"We Do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience"
John Dewey's Letter to the Waukegan Public Schools Board of Education, posted Tuesday, October 14, 2014
This letter was originally published on 10/14/14 via Facebook. John Dewey believes the fact this letter was widely shared through social media is what caused Lincoln Center to challenge Facebook into deleting all of John Dewey's contributions to the public discussion. The letter has been reprinted here. John Dewey freely grants permission to all those that share our values to re-post throughout social media.
I know that you monitor
this site, gauging the sentiments of the community, gathering tidbits of
information, and attempting to verify the accuracy of information District
negotiators have provided you. Welcome to the most exciting social movement to
hit Waukegan since who knows when!
The power of honest
reflection is quite remarkable and is a mental process quite distinct from
hindsight. Reflecting on the events of the past two weeks leads to one
inescapable conclusion: Every action the Board of Education and District Administration
has taken during the ongoing labor situation has backfired miserably. If I were a Board member, I would be curious
as to “why?”
The entire strategy to
delay negotiations throughout the summer served only to broadcast the lack of
seriousness with which the Board approached the efficient and effective
functioning of our school district. Perhaps the Board was never made aware of
the dozens of union requests to meet. Perhaps the Board just became complacent,
with a long history of contract negotiations that drone on into the late spring
before any resolution. Or maybe the Board was advised to take a calculated risk
as part of some misguided broader strategy. Regardless of reason, the impact of
the Board’s decision then will become manifest at tomorrow evening’s Board
meeting. The community wants its students and teachers back in school!
Whose decision was it to
bring in strong-arm tactician Anthony Ficarelli?Every step during the negotiation process,
your appointed mouthpiece has served to inflame community passions while
subverting an open and honest negotiation process. Is it Mr. Ficarelli that is
advising the District’s communication strategy, as well?Or is the strategy being hatched by a
sub-committee meeting in the deepest, darkest recesses of Lincoln Center? A
strategy based on insult, distortion and lies does not perform well in an age
of social media. Witness this site. Who at the senior most levels of your
Administration recommended Mr. Ficarelli?Were you made aware that each and every one of his lead positions have
resulted in protracted labor strife that have ripped communities apart? I
suspect that the Board was sold a “bill of goods” concerning Mr. Ficarelli,
however if he has served the Board as directed, then I suppose you are quite
pleased.If not, and here is where
honest reflection is needed, who is going to be held accountable? More
importantly, how are they to be held accountable?
Of course, the Board
completely misjudged the level of community support for the teachers.As you reflect for a few moments, you may
begin to understand why.First, the
Board of Education is simply unaware of the level of communication that takes
place between teachers and parents and the relationship quality that has built
up over time.Perhaps the Lincoln Center
types told you differently.It is quite
apparent that the Board never expected this level of support.In your moment of reflection, consider how
anyone from Lincoln Center could possibly provide you with an accurate reading
of public sentiment when they rarely, if ever, set foot in our schools.Second, hundreds of Waukegan teachers are
vital residents of the Waukegan community. Hundreds more are part of the
broader community, participating in worship activities, charitable causes,
sports and recreational programs, civic events and a range of other levels of
community involvement.Perhaps a better
explanation of why the community strongly supports the teachers has less to do
with a political calculation and demographics and more to do with simple human
decency.As events of the last weeks has
shown, Waukegan parents and community members value the work of WPS teachers at
a level well above the central office.The parents see growth in their own children as individuals and in spite
of the terrible conditions under which many of the students and teachers work. Respect
breeds understanding just as understanding breeds respect.
The vindictive decision
to preemptively cancel ALL teachers’ health insurance left dozens of seriously
ill staff members scrambling to find insurance coverage.There was no reason for this action, yet
having taken it, the Board communicated loud and clear a lack of respect for
the human dimension of our District and our community. This cold-hearted
move disgusted most community members, many of them struggling to maintain
their own health insurance. Given that this move will actually cost the
district financially in the long-run, the community saw a decision based on
nothing less than total intimidation. Did the Board set out to intentionally
mess with people’s lives?The vindictive,
harmful nature of the Board’s decision has not been lost upon community
members, who rallied at even stronger levels to support teachers.As with other issues, the community is
curious to know who advised on this decision? As the issue of health insurance
has played out, the community has witnessed the values that drive each side of
the negotiations process. Your values have been laid bare for all to see, and
the District has failed in the eyes of its community.
Symbolically, a bunker
mentality took hold at Lincoln Center that manifest itself in many more poor
decisions. As parents, students and teachers rallied for educational improvements,
the Board missed a wonderful opportunity to engage in dialogue.However, opportunity gave way to decisions to
lock out parents and students, and decisions to violate the Illinois Open
Meetings Act. These lost opportunities pale in comparison to the decision to
build “fortress Lincoln Center” by deploying fences and barricades.The symbolism is not lost on your community: Lincoln
Center and the established order must be protected at all costs. While
democracy paraded in the streets outside your windows, actions by your central
office staff were calculated to intimidate and disrupt otherwise protected
speech.In all of this, were these
decisions that the Board choose to lead?
While the negotiations
are far from over, the end of the process is in sight.Tomorrow night, much of the Waukegan School
Community will be present, all with many questions that demand answers.In preparation, it’s time for the Board of
Education to reflect on the decision they have made and have failed to make.
Our community will never be the same. The experience has changed us all.If we are truly to learn however, we must
reflect on this experience.