Labor exploitation in Palos Verdes Estates: Where is a Union when you need one?

A revolving door is a common phrase to signify a repeating pattern of random hiring and firing of workers. Oftentimes a revolving door is enshrouded in secrecy and all kinds of unfairness.  I am referring specifically to the problems facing a nonunion high school baseball coach at Palos Verdes High.  That coach is facing the revolving door.  However, this coach’s particular problem appears over and over in all sports in all schools where there are “Parents with Resources.”

I am riled up about a revolving door for several high school baseball coaches at PVHS, but quickly my thoughts critique an even larger problem, statewide in scope, a bad situation facing all nonunion employees of school districts.

The fact is a revolving door for sports coaches at PVHS and beyond.  This fact is entirely and indisputably bad for male and female student athletes.  It must be changed.

The revolving door starts at PVHS with a lack/absence of a Grievance procedure for disgruntled parents.  “Get a lawyer and make threats,” that is the process, now.  PVHS makes itself vulnerable to “Parents With Resources” by cowering to unilateral complaints about whatever can be contrived, followed by threats to cajole the weakling school district (PVPUSD), followed soon thereafter with the coach being “leg go.”  The story is repeated over and over at PVHS, in many sports for many years.

No truth, no fairness, no rights, nothing in writing, possibly ruining a young coach’s career as well.  It’s a reflection of poor management at the most basic level AND it is very damaging to the advancement and growth of student athlete learners.

Palos Verdes Unified School District is one of many districts that are big exploiters of highly-qualified “walk on” labor statewide, and PVHS is an example of due process denied for all nonunion coaches.  “Parents with resources” are the problem, nurtured by weak leadership.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:  A proper and relevant Grievance procedure is lacking at PVPUD, with nil procedures for all parents to follow at PVHS (and beyond).   The solution requires that top administrators not succumb to the noisiest parents with resources.  Grievance procedures would ensure fairness and protect the District as it tries to achieve understanding and resolution of a complaint.  I recommend the following steps:

1) Parents and Students fill out a basic form that contractually promises their willingness to submit to in-house arbitration of disputes at the outset;

2) Parents and Students are compelled to put their complaint in writing and the accused coach is compelled to respond to the complaint;

3) Parents and Students are compelled to face each other.  Transparency should be the norm and intended to protect all parties from unfairness.  The accused coach has the right to face his/her accusers who are witnesses against him/her; and

4) PVPUSD Administrators from top to bottom need to be stronger and smarter in protecting its workers.  Listen to the majority and Do what is right and fair.  Have a process that is simple and transparent.  These are the best solutions I can propose.

CONCLUSION

I am interested to make noise that makes PVHS and PVPUSD a better place to work and learn.  Right now there’s a destructive revolving door for nonunion coaches.

Sign the petition and join 200 other parents, coaches, student athletes, and teachers who demand equal rights for nonunion coaches at PVHS and in high school programs throughout California.  Please make a statement or pose a question.  Thanks.

SIGN THE PETITION

Advertisements

The beginning of the story

This is a very useful video by Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) about the struggle and importance of the story’s beginning–creating the foundation for the rest of the story.  I am very interested in the experience of writing and developing a story, asking myself, what does it feel like to write?  Writing is purely mechanical unless it is aligned with creative problem solving and lateral thinking.  Fun!

Bangkok, Museum of Floral Culture

 

 

For future reference in Bangkok:

Museum of Floral Culture

This is one of Bangkok’s gorgeous surprises.

The creation of Thai floral artist Sakul Intakul, the museum is for flower and nature lovers and those with an interest in Thai flower culture. It features exhibits of important floral cultures from civilizations across Asia such as Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Laotian and Balinese/Indonesian.

It’s housed in a beautifully preserved, 100-year-old teak mansion with colonial architecture. Lush grounds have been transformed into an impeccably landscaped Thai-meets-Zen-style garden.

The Museum of Floral Culture, 315 Samsen Rd. Soi 28, Yaek Ongkarak 13, Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Thailand, +66 2 669 3633

Tape is gone, but it lives on!

A useful writing that explains the absence of audio tape stock.  CLICK HERE

“Recording on tape enforces a musical process, McTear explains. Band members must play together, recording all at once, instead of editing and manipulating sounds so perfectly that they’re perfectly boring.”  I love this approach to musicianship and recording arts.

https://whyy.org/segments/whatever-happened-to-tape/

A Bloom Refresher

I use Bloom’s Taxonomy for the benefit of students in my classes.

I don’t know why the Taxonomy that Bloom et al developed seems to be kept in secret from students? Tell me why so few students are acquainted with Bloom et al?

I share the Taxonomy with my students and encourage them to apply the concept of action verbs in their individual learning, applying the concept of action verbs to scriptwriting, photography, interviewing, video production, and other creative inquiry and activity.

HERE is a useful list of verbs and a hierarchy of learning consistent with Bloom’s theory of learning.

 

Creative Teaching

I am learning about teaching each day that I lovingly and diligently do this work.  I want to teach as a facilitator of student-centered learning and practice.  Here is an annotated bibliography of research writings about improvisation and other creativity in teaching

http://wiki.ubc.ca/Improvisation_(Teaching_and_Learning)

Sloth and torpor

My old fren-emy, the hindrance of sloth and torpor