Crisis
A reflection on a President in Crisis and
an example of the translation of Love.

June 10th, 1963 provided a day in American history that led to a crisis regarding the presidential commitment of equality. On this day, George Wallace refused to allow for the integration of negro students in the Alabama school system.
George Wallace represents the institution of marginality that leads to people believing they are inferior. He is trying to save the institutions in the south that oppress African-Americans, a system that has been in place since Reconstruction. Ironically, George Wallace thinks he is fighting a moral fight. He felt it was not sinful to keep the two students from entering the University of Alabama.
The President had a difficult assignment ahead of him. Would he move quickly toward a translation of love or would he delay. The moral reasonableness of civil rights in the 1960’s was not as clear as it is today. To understand the importance of two students entering the University of Alabama would require the president to step outside of himself and decide what was morally right. Amazingly, the two students were entering a world of marginality that they never experienced. Vivian has to be coached by the NAACP on how to handle this world of marginality.
People of the south have practiced translation through a master as we have read in our readings by Edgerton. Those from the Northern point of view saw them as students. The southerners that supported Wallace saw them as Negroes. Until a transformation can happen in Alabama, this idea of translation through a master will not change.
The President interestingly enough mentions the social and economic injustices of our country in 1963. He made the connection to 1863 on promises not met. This argument is a backdrop for contemporary issues found in our readings today.
President Kennedy’s style of handling the crisis is similar to our classroom. He always handled things using a low key style. He listened and allow people to empower themselves to handle a crisis.

The Dangerous Path of Marginality
The Marginality of Love in the United States
An Autobiography

Is what we see necessarily what is real? Should we marginalize society by concentrating our efforts on individuals that do not understand the transformation of love? Should we assume that our country has Post Traumatic Ethnicity Disorder and we can never heal from the sins of our path? Or should we say Martin Luther’s Dream had no impact on our society? Should we believe Howard Zinn’s version of reality that the Constitution is a tool for repression. Is the challenge of future educational leaders to recognize only what sets us apart, or binds us together?
The Europeans did bring genocide to our planet. However, the story of the 500 Nations getting along wonderfully prior to us arriving here is also a myth. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that ethnic genocide existed on our continent long before the Europeans arrived. Ethnic genocide existed long before the Europeans exported their will along trade routes in the 1500’s. Guess what, slavery was not unique to Europe. Ever heard of the story of the Prince of Egypt? Africa had a slave trade prior to the Europeans coming over. In fact, slavery still exists in Africa long after it was outlawed in Europe and North America. Ethnic Genocide exists in Africa today in Darfur, and white Christians were enslaved in Sudan throughout the 1990’s? We have heard of the stories of crimes against humanity in the 1990’s in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Rwanda. The United States is home today to millions of refugees from this area.
What makes the U.S. unique is that we have more cultural groups trying to assimilate in our country than any other country in the world. It has been happening since the late 1600’s. Yet even today, we try to make this experiment of acceptance work. But does the U.S only matter about race? How come in Canada and Europe, they put a greater emphasis on class? In Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, their exists a caste system that restricts human rights worse than the United States. During the Cold War, the United States both challenged and sponsored oppression, however in the end, according to the United Nations, more democracies exist today than in any other time in World History. The United States earns most of the credit for moving democracy forward, even in times when our nation was not so democratic in itself.
Finally, the Constitution. For all its faults, has one unique aspect that people fail to remember. The Constitution is a mirror of our society, and this form of government is unique in that we can change(amend) our society regarding the expansion of civil rights. When we lack the will to change throughout our history, it’s due to an educational and political system that lacks the will to produce change necessary for many individuals to achieve equality.
Darwin’s theory of evolution applies to American History. Equality unfortunately evolves. Survival of the Fittest according to Darwin is a slow process. Equality represents the fittest form of society and humanity that we can achieve, unfortunately it is going to take generations to get there, and many subgroups of people will get hurt along the way, including whites. Remember, whites get hurt too. How soon we forget about the Quakers who lost their homes along the underground railroad for helping African-Americans escape to the north. Millions of whites live in poverty just as worse as inner city ghettos. From Schenectady to Buffalo in upstate New York, an economic devastation 3 times the size of the loss of population in New Orleans devastated upstate New York over the past 20 years. I should know because I live it everyday.
How fast we achieve equality were in past, present, and future generations hands. How quickly we get there can greatly be impacted by educational leadership.
In closing, I want to update the starfish analogy using Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of pets left stranded by Katrina have been sheltered in other states. And many will die. If I was thinking about adopting a pet from Katrina, and somebody said to me. ‘Hundreds of thousands of these pets will be killed, so adopting one won’t matter.” I would respond, it did to that dog I just adopted. I will not surrender the dreams of Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, Ghandi, or Jesus Christ. They paid a much higher price for equality than many of us here today will ever be asked to contribute.

The Necessity for Art in the Curriculum
How to promote spiritual being without treading on the Constitution

At times, a field trip, film, or guest speaker at MCLA can stir up emotions that will challenge us as educational leaders. Our field trip to the museum was both a personal and professional experience for me. I went in exploring art using strategies I learned in class. I left with a profound religious experience that I won’t soon forget.
The trip to Williamstown provided me with spiritual renewal and clarity regarding the role of spirituality in school. Dr. Slattery addressed the issue of spirituality and religion in his book Post Modern Curriculum. I have concluded after much thought that there is a need to make voluntary connections to our world outside of the literal connections we see and hear today.
Personally, I am connected to the understanding of religious art and life. The stories and inferences achieved through art offer an understanding of our world today. Interestingly enough, religious art is ecologically friendly because the images help students understand the connecting of leaving the material world and entering a relationship with nature and spirituality.
A student at both galleries asked me to give my opinions on religious art. I told her that divinity inspires much of the artwork. You enter a relationship with the iconist who painted the picture and see through their eyes on the canvas a mucher deeper relationship within the picture. Exposure to all art forms is critical in a school community. In regards to today, I learned how to create a connection to thematic art without crossing the thin line of separation of state.

Hurricane Katrina Reflection Paper.
By Lenny Giardino

Hurricane Katrina was an interesting presentation and gave many examples of how racism has played a role in recovery. The music was symbolic of the role of lyrics and education. Music regarding social justice belongs in the classroom.
While listening to the presentation, I began to think about a catastrophe of proportions that has happened in Upstate New York that rarely gets media attention. Unfortunately, due to standards, our schools lack the leadership to ask kids to discuss this economic holocaust that has existed in Upstate New York for more than 20 years.
The Problem: The statistics are as follows. Over one million New Yorkers have left Upstate New York between Schenectady and Buffalo. The largest economic migration in times of economic prosperity that has ever happened in our nation’s history. The loss of jobs has greatly increased the poverty in Upstate Cities, and divided schools by race and class. According to U.S. Census data, every county in New York except for one has experienced a mass exodus of young people ages 18-49. School census data shows that upstate cities have losses up to 25 percent in school populations. This population loss has had a devastating effect on school budgets all around the state.
Independent data has shown that many families will lose numerous members of their family to the migration south and west of Upstate New York.
Reasons for Loss: Many people blame the loss of population in Upstate New York on high taxes. Unfortunatly, high taxes were caused by external factors. When NAFTA went into effect, numerous firms in upstate New York left for Mexico or Central America. This depleted tax revenues from school and city budgets. Next, due to a lack of power nationally in the house and senate, base closure commissions closed two large upstate bases, and again depleting the tax base.
In all fairness, Administrators and school boards in education failed to respond to the rapidly changing climate. This void in educational leadership led to deepening problems for many local communities. For this reason, I choose to reflect on the importance of educational leadership not only in Louisiana, but in New York State. I strongly suggest an inclusion of this discussion in next years Leadership Academy. Since many students come from New York, they need to be aware of the economic hardships faced by this geographic area. Many I have talked to are simply unaware, just like those who did not know the facts about Katrina. Similar to the books on ecology we have read, it may be better to look in our own backyard, get a local favor prior to examining more abstract connections such as Katrina.

Shattered Dreams of Ending Apartheid
(A reflection on Jonathon Kozal)
By Lenny Giardino

My days of social activism are reaching the twilight of my life

I fought the good fight

American ideas of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks

Soon to be a memory….

Was Malcolm right?

Should black America have taken actions into their own hands?

Does the government only respond to violence?

Division is not in the best interest of the union

Do we have a union anymore? Did we ever have a union?

Was America’s reaction to OJ, Michael Jackson, and Katrina symbolic or our great divide among the races?

Did anyone listen?

What about Pineapple

Who will listen to her

Who will carry the torch for democracy when Jonathon is gone?

Will it be you, will it be me

We better start to listen, for integration leads to a common culture

While the great divide will create civil strife

Ooooh Jonathon, how I wish they listened to you…..

Maybe we will be lucky, and you will live to 102

Please fight the good fight for another day

Because one more activist has joined the fight for equality on that fateful night at MCLA

Examining NCLB through the lens of our discussion with Bill Mathis
By Lenny Giardino

No Child Left Behind – Plessy v. Ferguson
Common Themes

Plessy v. Ferguson 1896 - Plessy v. Ferguson tried to legitimize the south’s desire to separate the races. The case settled by the Supreme Court legitimized this concept. If you read the verdict, it sounds fair. Especially in terms of thinking in 1896. The goal was to have separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites. Many northerners and people out west believed schooling would be provided fairly. I’m sure many people back then thought the inclusion of the word equal meant equal. However, institutional forces knew exactly what it meant. Forces in America had an implied meaning once the Supreme Court empowered the south into believing it could bring about its agenda. All institutions for blacks were meant to be inferior. Now how would that sound, separate but inferior? It’s all in the political marketing. The Plessy decision took quite along time for the Civil Rights movement to overturn the barriers setup by Plessy. I unfortunately feel this is true for NCLB and for this reason I do not share the optimism of Bill Mathis regarding the turn around time of overturning NCLB.

NCLB 2006 – The more I learn and analyze No Child Left Behind, I begin to understand the forces behind the legislation. Bill Mathis helped disclose the hidden agenda of NCLB. The agenda he discussed with us is the one that is never in the news. The goals sound noble, just like Plessy. Realistically, forces behind NCLB have a hidden agenda of vouchers, the introduction of business models in schools, and the replacement of public service ideas with private service ideology. Schools will be consumer driven and very politicized. Standardized testing will be a means for reaching many of the above mentioned goals. Once a school can’t meet unrealistic expectations, this allows the private sector to restore faith in the system.
Capitalism cannot save the day. This much I know is true. I do not share Bill Mathis’s optimism that NCLB will begin to change with the upcoming elections. I think NCLB will be around long after President Bush. Unfortunately, Republicrats, I mean Democrats will try to fund NCLB instead of reform education. They may tinker with NCLB, but standardized testing and review of schools will be a here for a long time to come. I believe from my own political background and activism that we can’t rely on people to pressure Congress alone. We have to democratically support legislators that want to reform education and eliminate NCLB all together. This will take a generation of voters to change to halls of state houses and congress to favor such a reform.

Lenny Giardino
Reflection Paper for Smoke Signals




1492 and the story is still true

Culture, Betrayal, sense of loss

Whether by gun, cannon, or alcohol


My connection to the story is personal. I taught in Oregon and had many Nez Perce students who knew nothing about their history. A movie such as smoke signals has wide appeal, however what saddens me is that Native Americans may not understand their own history due to the American Educational system.
A personal experience I had in the classroom was from two Nez Perce students who at age 16, knew nothing about their cultural background. I assigned them a book on the Nez Perce war. Emotionally, a book that provides both history and bigotry backgrounds of American History in a telling way.
Next, I asked the students to travel to Eastern Oregon and see Chief Joseph’s grave. (Chief Joseph was a central part of the book) What I didn’t let them know is that Native American’s have desecrated his grave for years. They came back confused, and actually thought whites desecrated the grave. I let them know the Nez Perce desecrate the grave because a famous Army Captain/Missionary, Captain Spalding moved Chief Joseph to this site from the reservation he died in. Next, I explained that Chief Joseph renounced his name because it was a Christian name given to him by the U.S. army. (His real name is (Nimiputimt). Finally, I explained that the grave site was not chosen by the Nez Perce, but the U.S. Army and they wanted him buried on sacred ground in the Wallowa Mountains.
Smoke Signals brought out the wrongs of American History by asking “Who is your favorite Indian Basketball Player?” A metaphor for Indian life.

“Treat all men alike”
give them all the same law
give them all an even chance
to live and grow
Chief Joseph

(Food for thought from the 19th Century that resonates in the 21st Century)