Breaking Out.

"...you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all.
Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!"

-John Keating (Dead Poets Society)

As I watch that movie for what seems the hundredth time Robin Williams' performance as English professor John Keating still moves me. The Dead Poets Society still invokes the strong feelings of carpe diem, even within a society that tries to confine you.

In case you haven't seen the movie, which I would highly recommend to you, Keating spends most of his duration at Welton Academy encouraging the youthful minds not to settle for the typical life but the extraordinary life in which you find your voice and use it to impact the world you live in.

His message is not received well by many of the faculty including one fellow teacher who states;

McAllister: You take a big risk by encouraging them to be artists John. When they realize they're not Rembrandts, Shakespeares or Mozarts, they'll hate you for it.

Keating: We're not talking artists George, we're talking free thinkers.

McAllister: Free thinkers at seventeen?

Keating: Funny, I never pegged you as a cynic.

McAllister: Not a cynic, a realist.

It is very funny how the same debate continues today whether or not to stifle the youth's contribution to society. Despite the fact that teenagers are the next generation of voters there are many out there that maintain our opinions do not matter.

(i.e. James Wigderson maintains that "Children (Students) should be seen and not heard.")

Well that is a wonderful attitude to the people that will be paying his social security check when he hits retirement. Sadly his attitude is adopted by many ultra-conservatives.


On the other hand there are organizations and citizens who are more than willing to hear our opinions.

Waukesha Forward values youth input

Project ABC values our opinions

Champions for Excellence values the youth

And many others do as well. In response to a blog written by Wigderson criticizing my age username "Jake" came to the youth's defense saying;

Speaking of the value of age JW - since you are under 40, you know little or nothing about Vietnam, the WWII generation, Iran/Contra, Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan. Assuming you reached the age of understanding at 22, your direct knowledge is mainly of Clinton and GWBush.

This depth of knowledge says every thing one needs to know about your political intellect derived from experience and also clarifies why you don't understand what it means to be a real conservative - it is far more than being just opposed to higher taxes.

I don't expect Jake would agree with everything I say, but at least he understands that we have a right to be heard.


One value you have working with students is that we are not dug into our opinions like many of these middle aged cynics, this doesn't mean we're wishy washy, it means we are open-minded and able to find compromise!

Compromise... it seems many political activists, politicians, and constituents have forgotten the definition of the word...

The problem with many conservatives and liberals is that they are so sure that they are 100% right and everyone else is wrong. Hmm....not a very good attitude to take if you want to find a solution.

I think the character of Keating in D.P.S. was definitely a progressive, he saw the worth and potential in youth we need more of his type in the political scene today!

What do we want from our schools?

It's an interesting question because everyone will say they want quality schools, but then everyone has a different opinion of what a quality school is...

Here is my take;

A quality school hires the best educators for the job, individuals who are on fire for their jobs and inspire their students to perform to the highest levels. Not anyone can teach math or physics successfully!
If you were the owner of a business I hope for your sake that you would hire the best people for your company, not the cheapest!

A quality school offers the courses and resources that can enable any individual to succeed. Sure math, reading and writing were all students needed...in the 50's!!! It is a different world now in 2007! Students need to be equipped for whatever they may face when they enter college and the career field! Versatility is a virtue!

Again, no one would expect a UPS man to deliver packages without a delivery truck, or a chef at a "high class" restaurant to cook without cooking utensils! Why should we expect the youth to be educated with anything less than the best resources?

A quality school ensures small class sizes to enable easy teacher/student interaction.

A gym class of 40 students to 1 teacher does not fit the label of a small class and I do not believe that shoving as many students into a classroom as possible in the interest of saving money is an equation for excellence.

A quality school produces well rounded students! Other states do it, other states manage to fund their schools the right way, why not Wisconsin!

Now if wishing for a quality education for youth makes me "a liberal punk" or a "selfish lefty" as some conservatives have so kindly dubbed me so be it!

It is not fair to the youth to say "we didn't have all those programs and we turned out OK." We don't want students who just turn out "OK", rather students who turn out extraordinary! Students who will care about their community and will be interested in changing their surrounding environment for the betterment of all!

I would not refer to these statements as whining rather standing up for my convictions, please tell me that youth are allowed to have convictions!

Talk,Talk,Talk... why not look for a solution?

Conservatives and Liberals are in a stalemate, neither side will admit that their viewpoints have flaws and neither will even dream of working along side the other for a better solution.


For conservatives it is all anti-teacher rhetoric they have been fed from young on. Our public school teachers are evil because they chose a profession that offers great benefits and a moderate salary...ask Mark Belling, or James Wigderson, they'll tell you how terrible our public educators are.

For Doyle and the liberal crew it's all about spending more, and protecting the union.

Our local representatives Ted Kanavas, Bill Kramer, Mary Lazich, etc. refuse to make this a priority till they are screamed at enough from Waukesha's residents. They deny that there is a problem with the funding formula, then admit it, then deny that they admitted it.

And I thought Democrats were flip-floppers!

But here is the reality;

-The state aid formula is outdated. It is based on spending from 1993 which is completely irrelevant to spending in 2007-08.

-The Revenue Caps do not line up with the Qualified Economic Offer (there is a built in deficit that results in program and service reductions each year now).

- Younger teachers are the victims of yearly layoffs because the district uses a seniority system rather than a system based on performance. (Which, by the way, explains why the average teacher in Waukesha is paid higher than the average teacher in say...West Allis.)

But our taxpayer and union friends are not interested in the least in working together, but rather throw pot shots at each other from their polarized viewpoints while our situation gets worse still.

Here is another fact that you may not have read about anywhere but the Freeman;

-The Waukesha school board will have to eliminate another $2.6 million dollars worth of programs and services from our district for the Fall of 2008! (Though credit must be given to the board for saving $900,000 through contract negotiations).

We need organizations like the WTL, and WEAC to take a more proactive approach and start thinking outside their confining liberal/conservative boxes!

Rather than name calling and shooting insults back and forth how about truly working for the good of the residents of this city??

When I see Christine Lufter and Mary Bell sit down together to work for a constructive solution, with personal bias set aside, you can bet you're going to see some real progress begin!

Until then you can get used to saying goodbye...

To Athletics
-Music
-Art Programs
-Business Classes
-Technology Arts
-Physical Education
-Foreign Language Ed.
-Co-op Programs

And many many more. Sound like a great school to be at? Didn't think so.

If you don't believe me go online and find the lists of program and service eliminations in Waukesha since 1994...

I feel especially sorry for the Gifted and Talented advocates who were always attending board meetings in hopes that their programs would not be cut...

Waukesha no longer has Gifted and Talented program offerings. If we cannot afford to serve the best and brightest talents in our school district it is a sad day for Waukesha schools!

Remember being fiscal, or as I like to refer to it...cheap, does not necessarily mean you will improve efficiency or quality!

On the same note, I do not advocate throwing tons of money into the equation without fixing the problem. But there has to be a point that we realize that our current situation is not working, and is in fact getting worse! There has to be a point that we grow up and start acting our age, with the future generations of students in mind.

What sort of school system do we want them to have?

Schools that are gutted because of program and staffing reductions?
Or schools that offer the very best tools, resources, and talents to educate them in staying competitive in the global market place.

I guess it seems too simple, there must be a more complex solution...

The Fine Line Between Racism... and Platnum Discs

Let me just ask some questions that came to me today...I am not being cynical, just asking honest questions and maybe possibly someone can give me an honest answer.

Why do we have such a double standard in society when it comes to the word N******? You see I'm not going to write it because it is taboo for a white guy to do so...but if I was black...

It is interesting that guys like Kosmo Kramer (aka Michael Richards) or Don Imus can lose their jobs over the use of the word...or words similar, while the black hip-hop community revels in it.

Why can black people use the word and white people can't?

For example I am going to put some lyrics to a Lil' Jon (who is pictured above) song called "Role Call" in this blog and you will see why I'm wondering why the two guys above had their careers ruined.

"The Real N**** Role Call"
Album: Crunk Juice
Artist: Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz

Yeah! Right about now (whats up)
It's time for the real n**** roll call
Now when you hear your city or state being called
You put your motherf-----' middle finger up in this b----
ATL, St. Louis, Alabahma, Chicago, The Carolina's,
Naptown, DC, The Bay Area, VA, Miami, New York n**** ( U AIN'T KNOW?), texas

[Lil' Jon & Ice Cube:]
Ya'll n**** (p----- n****)
can't f--- wit my n**** h-!(p----- n****)
Mothaf--- that n****!
Mothaf--- that b----!

Ya'll N****!
Come on flexin' a-- flauntin' a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some real a-- trill a-- n*****!
Ya'll n*****!
Be some h- a-- p---- a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some head-bustin' gangsta a--n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Be some runnin' and scary a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some Roy Jones beat yo a-- n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Be some cake and handcuffin' a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some "Send dem h--s out!" a-- n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Be some tricking "Don't pay them h--s!" a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some Don Juan pimpin' a-- n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Be some 22 havin' a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some choppa street sweepin' a-- n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Them ol' half ounce sellin' a-- n*****!
My N*****!
Be some dirty bird movin' a-- n*****!
Ya'll N*****!
Be some kissin' security a-- n*****!
My N*****!
F--- them h--s and let 'em know a-- n*****!

[Ice Cube:]
See I'ma mean n****
Youse afraid n****
Ol' pretend n****
Smile and grin n****
I hate a false n****
Diana Ross n****
So if ya lost n****
Meet tha boss n****
He's a super n****
Grin and groupa n****
Act stupid n****
I'll f-----' nuke a n****
Cuz youse a happy n****
And ima nappy n****
F-----' scrappy n****
Meet ya pappy n****
Its ice cube n****
And lil jon n****
So if ya drunk n****
Keep it crunk n****
To you punk n****
Feel tha bump n****
Get yo testifying a-- in tha trunk n****
You wanna tell n****
I'll dump a shell n****
Send a frail n****
Str8 ta hell n****
Thats ya shelter n****
Helter Skelta n****
And when I belt a n****
Ya'll Help a n****

[Ice Cube:]
Here we come boy
Real n**** shoot ta kill betta run boy
Or you can tell me how I feel as a
Real n**** Which n**** Go get a b---- n****
No better H--s better do what I say Cuz I'm insane in tha brain
B---- I got rick james in my veins
Real n***** never change
We just let it bang Roll thru tha gutter lane
Daddy said let 'em hang
And cut 'em like its butter mayne
Skeet skeet skeet
Naw thats tha other mayne
Cuz my skeet never leak out that rubba mayne
T 'n A ain't worth a n**** DNA
That crazy b----'ll have ya a-- off E&J
Fake niggas got these real b------ bein' gay
Til my peoples come around its like night and day
Now she wanna change her god and the way she pray
Authentic n**** all know thats tha playa way


This is just one song and the word is used give or take about 80 some times!

This is from an album the climbed as high as #3 on the hip-hop charts, and had a Top-5 pop single. Not some underground alternative rap outfit!

As you can see the word that ruined Michael Richards and sacked Don Imus is making rappers Lil' Jon and Ice Cube rich!

Why does the the black community not speak out against the genre of music that exaggerates dumb black stereotypes, degrades women, glamorizes violence and drug use?

Why is it racism when a white man utters the dreaded word, but black people turn their heads towards members of their own race who throw it out as casually as a greeting?

I have no problem if rappers want to produce and sell their albums...that is freedom of speech and they are entitled to it. I would never censor that right of theirs, but if it is acceptable for rappers to use the word, than it should be acceptable for everyone.

If it is unacceptable then it should be unacceptable for everyone! No exceptions.

What sort of a message do we send to youth of all races, who by the way are primary consumers of the music, with this blatant double standard?

I would love to see the real leaders of the black community stand up and demand an apology (at the very least) from Lil' Jon, Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent and all the other rappers who are getting rich off the word that to many blacks represents hatred and prejudice!

Consistency people!

A Breath Of Fresh Air...

The discussion of educational spending is becoming a hotter topic by the day... many ultra-conservative voices have tried to crush the discussion by merely stating that it is purely WEAC's fault and that teachers are overpaid and under worked and this will all go away if teachers switch their health care plan to the state one...

Yet such an easy fix is not being accepted by the citizens of Waukesha...why?

The debate keeps popping up...why?

It might be that residents are sick of hearing the sarcastic cynical approach these groups take toward public schools.

Or it is possible that residents are seeing through the "we promote responsible spending and government oversight" line

and reading it for what it really is; "we hate the union and will do anything to cast blame upon our teachers because they get a great benefits package".

Or it might be that Waukesha's citizens realize that it is only a temporary fix to a long term problem.

It is probably a mixture of these reasons that is causing citizens to tune out the grouchy conservatives and work towards a constructive solution when it comes to saving our schools.

And yes I say saving our schools, because we in Waukesha are reaching that point.

$3 million dollars of eliminations (programs and services) a year is not exactly an equation for a thriving school district.

And each year that a solution is postponed due to the stalemate in Madison's politics, opportunities are denied to future generations of students. Maybe it's a class they never got to take, or an inspiring teacher who has been moved or cut from the district.

True Conservatives, Moderates, and Progressives are beginning to work together because we realize that the situation we are in is not cutting it.

Trust me I am not a fan of the union by any means, but I am also not a fan of blaming a statewide problem on one party when it really won't fix the problem.

We need a new funding formula for the public schools! Period.

Props to Sondy Pope Roberts for her Joint Resolution 27 that at least gives representatives a goal to shoot for the new formula... little steps give way to giant leaps.