RE: Introductions

HI everyone,
I'm playing "catch up" here in Charleston, WV, due to a last minute trip. My background is varied...I started as a music teacher in Newark (NJ) in 1973, and have been involved with learning ever since (as jazz artist in residence, arts administrator, systems analyst, computer teacher, author and consultant). My interest in California education is personal, since my daughter, Jasmin, has been at UC Santa Cruz since 1999. From her experience and my observations on visits, I get a visceral reaction to the victories and challenges in California....and compare them to those we face in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Defining the goals for student learning immediately reveals how complex a task this is: there doesn't seem to be a shared sense of purpose. Rather there are deeply held beliefs, and as one of our panelists noted, deeply held interests in keeping things as they are. Keeping things as they are, however, is an impossibility.

I hold out much hope by the discussions now initiated through the No Child Left Behind legislation, for the genie is now out of the bottle: we are confronting the consequences of our actions (and inactions) and for once focusing on the student, and what it takes to support every student in reaching the levels of achievement they desire. 

Looking forward to reviewing all that's been said, and contributing where useful!

Thanks!

Ferdi