Aristotle says a thing cannot be both A and the (EA) A: Bloomfield Hills schoolboard tries to understand a Governor who defies logic

 A thing can not be true and not true, A and not (EE)A. [parenthesis mine]

This is Aristotle's principle of non-contradiction, although it derives from "Father" Parmenides and seems to have its ancient sources in India.

Here, just for kicks and in the spirit of career and college readiness, is how it can be expressed in formal logic, per two giants of 20th philosophy, Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead: *3 `24. H-. ~ (P.~P)

Or that is as close, typographically speaking, as I can get to the Principia Mathematica with Patch formatting.

The principle is useful for a number of reasons in life. But at the moment I would ask the BHSD schoolboard and BHSD parents to ponder it specifically in relation to the recently passed legislation (HB4369) -- that once things are sorted out  before Lansing boots up again Jan. 8 -- will codify the Educational Achievement Authority in the State of Michigan.

The EAA caused a bit of confusion at the Dec. 19th BHSD board meeting, with Superintendent Rob Glass saying in his opening report the EAA would come up again soon and ended with Rep. Mike McCready trying to answer questions about the legislation and suggesting it may or may not come up again.

Curiously, Mr. McCready was fresh from delivering emails to constituents -- seemingly much less sure than Mr. Glass that the issue would come up again ("if the issue comes up for discussion...").http://bloomfield-mi.patch.com/groups/ken-jacksons-blog/p/john-kerry

A thing can not be A, and not A. It either will come up or it won't.

On this small issue, trust me, Mr. Glass was right to say the EAA will come back as a major issue for you very soon. The Governor has insisted on it since at least April 2011. Indeed, he is risking his re-election on this flop. Without ed reform, a full half of Snyder's opposition might fall away.

Why the investment one must ponder? The new argument from the Governor and his supporters is that they are "morally obligated" to help.

Kidsfirst?


Mr. McCready, for his part at the board meeting, was, well ..... how shall we say it: playing politics with his neighbors and community about the future of their children, both delaying and avoiding the fact he is caught between the wishes of his Governor, some very big money, and public education here and elsewhere.

But he can't stay in the land between A and not A too much longer.

He will have to say in the open whether he thinks traditional, geographically defined Districts (Bham, BHSD, Troy, etc.) are the model for the state or the Governor's Anywhere, Anyplace, Anytime solution that is best represented -- you will see below in a video link -- by the EAA.

The pre-Prop A "I got mine" Seaholm grad McCready already has voted for the latter in March.


There did (thank goodness for small things!) at the Board meeting seem to be some general agreement that the legislative effort to prevent the EAA from being subject to the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act like all other public schools was a bad idea.http://bloomfield-mi.patch.com/groups/ken-jacksons-blog/p/open-letter-to-bhsd-and-its-school-board-f...

But there was some lingering dissension over  just how bad of an idea not being subject to the Open Meetings Act was.

For instance, I am not being hyperbolic when I say I think it horrific, a violation of democratic principles and a clear indicator of all sorts of problems with the EAA and the Governor's education reform tout court. Why can't we see what the EAA is up to? Why the skunks works redux?

Mr. McCready and at least one board member, while agreeing the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act were important, weren't quite so adamant.

Now McCready would have been hard pressed to say the Open Meetings Act is a bad idea as he was using the public comments section of a public meeting to try to justify his particular political actions. But he seemed to think it was Ok or at least understandable for the EAA to have some latitude here as the EAA was a "test" or an "experiment" or, moving to business metaphors for public education, "like a start-up."

That was the the Rep's explanation for his majority party's actions: this is a government experiment -- with kids -- so that is why there is no public disclosure.

Huh? Who thinks like this in 2014? Who says it with a straight face at a school board meeting?

I have cautioned previously against eliding how metaphors determine our thought before so I won't go back over that .http://bloomfield-mi.patch.com/groups/ken-jacksons-blog/p/bhhs-merger-or-consolidation-words-words-w... even though I find the metaphors of "testing" or "experimenting" with public school children horrific, too.

And a public school is certainly not a "start-up" nor even "like" a start-up.

But, for the moment, rather than articulating why those terms are horrific let me just accept -- for the sake of argument -- these metaphors as such and explain the "contradictions" of the EAA even these disturbing metaphors reveal.  I am particularly interested in the continuing seeming contradiction that the EAA does AND does not have something to do with BHSD.

So let's examine the "test" metaphor first and then the "start-up" -- the experiment metaphor too ugly even for me to think about at Christmas time.


The "test" of Mr. Covington's EAA type method has failed in New Orleans and it has failed in Kansas City, where Mr. Covington ducked out of town. KC dropped it before his plane landed in Detroit. Here is a copy of a powerful talk last December from my colleague at Wayne State University, Professor Thomas C. Pedroni, something of an expert now on the EAA:https://sites.google.com/site/detroitdataanddemocracyproject/rallies-and-teach-ins/eaa-teach-in-mary... Here, for those that prefer video, is a clip of his testimony before the State Board of Education last week.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4uHPlDrHvY&feature=youtu.be  describing the deceptive nature of the EAA.

Here, too, is testimony from a parent in New Orleans testifying about the model that informs the just codified "EAA":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmz4bSB8I6c&feature=share

That 25% of students left the EAA this year should be considered a "failed" test.

If, instead of the test or experiment language, we want to honor the metaphor of a "start-up" and evaluate it on those terms ....well the EAA isn't a start up most would invest in (unless you are a billionaire like Eli Broad determine to use your fortune to impose your view of the world on others). Here is  parent advocate Steven Norton's write up in the Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20131216/OPINION05/312160019/Michigan-public-schools-EAA that illustrates the financial problems there.

All this is to say, again, a thing can not be A and not A.

1) The EAA can't still be an ongoing test AND a test that has failed.

2) Similarly, it can't be both a free market start up AND a state run investment that has bungled money as badly as any public school district.

If it is, in fact, a "start up" shouldn't BHSD be worried again about its property as it was when the EAA billed was coded HB6004?

3) That is, if this is a business model it can't be both a business that doesn't seek profits AND one that does not.

The list goes on.

4) One can't be both an educational emergency, per Mr. McCready and his predecessor Mr. Moss, and now Senator Pappageorge, that can't wait any longer AND a political problem that can be deferred to 2015 as is now likely to avoid political damage. The "emergency" in Detroit Schools extends at least back to Gov. Engler's decision to place the schools under emergency management in 1999 -- where they have existed ever since.

5) The EAA can't be both the center of the Governor's education reform project AND only for a few schools in Detroit.

So: Who actually insists that A can be both A and not A? Who insists that Aristotle is not career and college ready? Where does this challenge to logic originate?

The Governor.

And our Mr. McCready is struggling to follow the non-logic of Gov. Snyder.

For those who want to continue to insist that the EAA is only for the "lowest 5%" of schools and in no way hurts our District I urge that you watch Governor Snyder at this fall's "Techonomy" Conference in Detroit (WSU hosted).

Here the Governor -- somewhat fantastically for a guy who likes to think of himself as realistic and pragmatic -- circumvents ancient principles of logic and explains the EAA is both A and not A, not meant for the whole state, but also a model he wants the whole state to embrace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edoc-jwgX5Y

Aristotle could only say, wait what?

The Governor could not be clearer. A thing can be both A and not A. The EAA is the model of public education the Governor will impose on all of Michigan should things go his way in 2015.

You can call your rep and your senator all you like, respond to alerts from the admirable Vicki Markavitch and Rob Glass all you like. But, contra the Governor, a think can't be A and not A. If you vote with the Governor, Mr. McCready and Senator Pappageorge on schools, you will lose your own.