When asked about an obstreperous yet vacuous back-bencher, I
believe it was former British PM Sir Anthony Eden who opined, “I don’t think
much of him, alas, too frequently.”
Shifting from the intrigues of Westminster in the ‘50s to
Howard County of today, Renee Foose, of course, is the answer to what happens
when an uncontrollable Superintendent meets up with an unyielding Board.
Careful readers of this blog will know that this author
generally believes the Reform Five to be more in the right when it comes to
matters facing HCPSS. That said, the
recent traditional local media coverage is making it appear as though we are
dealing with a “she said/they said” controversy…school yard fractiousness where
the combatants are roughly equivalent in their degree of wrong, or
short-sighted-ness, or self-interested-ness, etc…
The reality, from a communications perspective, is that
Foose and her allies have been punching above their weight in terms of advancing
her “case.” Her opponents, quite simply,
are not as cohesive as they could and should be. The election results of 2016 should have been
seen as a massive repudiation of the Foose regime. A different Superintendent might have taken the
hint and resigned, or opted to find a way to collaborate with the new
Board. Nay, not Ms. Foose. By choosing to dig in her heels and snipe
away, she opted to become an Obstacle, seemingly more intent on career
preservation and on retaining whatever control she has over the day-to-day
operations of the school system. A
different regulatory structure could have provided a faster remedy to this
impasse, alas, it was not acted upon by our good friends in Annapolis. So, we find ourselves in the mire.
It is unfortunate that we rely so heavily on citizen
journalists and other interested parties to get the story right. Such is the reality of our modern era, with
traditional media often having neither the resources nor the institutional memory
to provide its consumers with the depth of coverage such a story requires.
Speaking of citizen journalism, this blog would be remiss if
we did not single out the new podcast offered up by HoCo’s own Action
Squad: Candace Dodson Reed and Tom
Coale, Elevate Maryland (elevatemdpodcast.com). While I enjoy the interview and discussion
format, and they landed two interesting guests for the first two shows, I would
definitely like to hear more of their thoughts on various state and local
issues. Perhaps the biweekly nature (and
length) of the podcast necessitates the coverage of more topics within a relatively
short span of time, but I would love if they could drill down on certain issues
and share more of their expertise and insights.
Overall, nicely done!
Finally, on a sadder note, this blog would like to recognize
the passing of Robert Pirsig, author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance.” I recall reading his book
in its entirety over a series of Metro rides, which is precisely the wrong environment
to consume this work. An attempt to reconcile
our technologically-driven society with a personal commitment to a higher
expression of human values, which he summed up through his perspectives on
Quality as a metaphysical concept, one felt the struggle of the protagonist as
he tries to live authentically, and meaningfully, in a world that doesn’t
necessarily appreciate his worldview.
His ability to locate the spiritual within the mechanistic, when seen
through the lens of mindful action and a self-perfecting impulse, helped lead
to the creation of this classic work. He
shall be missed.
Stay tuned, as more will follow.
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