Roland Allen: Weblog

This is a four-day weekend for the students. The school threw in a long weekend just for fun. The school was closed on Friday. Students are off today, but the faculty is gathering at 7:30 for a day of meetings. It’s been a nice break.

The heat has abated a bit and the house cooled down nicely last night, unlike the night before. I’m up early because I want to bake some vegetables for lunch. It was too hot to do so last night.

I started watching Bergman’s Wild Strawberries last night. Although the movie’s shorts (94 minutes), I didn’t watch it all. I got tired. It’s simple movie that develops a lot of characters in a short time.

I haven’t written a conclusion to last week’s visit to Serra High School. Readers will recall that I was an accreditation visiting committee last week in Gardena. I was at the school from Sunday through Wednesday. I enjoyed being there a great deal, although it is draining work. Being on a visiting committee is volunteer work. Experienced educators are invited to serve on committees. I can’t write about a lot of details, but I can share some things. A lot of things impressed me about Serra, particularly the dedication of faculty/staff, students and parents. Basically, all of the constituents have a stake in the school, which makes it nice to be there.

But, being away for most of last week, and coming back to my school for only one day, meant that I was pretty busy on Thursday. In fact, I had to come in on Friday to catch up on stuff, including scheduling a couple of meetings with students who had urgent things that needed to be dealt with.

I did get to an important track meet on Thursday afternoon and evening. Quite a few students on our team qualified to advance on to league championship competition. And, on Saturday, I spent the middle of the day at a swim meet.

I’m not sure if I’ve been in Gardena before. It’s a small city off of the 110 south of Los Angeles. It’s bordered by Hawthorne, Compton and Harbor City. Although the streets that run east to west (Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Redondo Beach Boulevard) suggest that it’s near the beach. It’s not.

I’m in Gardena for most of this week as part of a “visiting committee” that is reviewing Junipero Serra High School. Serra is a Catholic high school that is part of the diocese of Los Angeles education department. The school has transitioned from an all boys school to a coed school with a mostly minority and low-income student population of 600 kids. The school shrank to about half of its current size a few years back, but, a dedicated faculty and administration partnered with parents to bring it back. And the results are impressive. Last year 100% of Serra graduates were admitted to college, and the majority were admitted to four-year colleges and universities.

A couple of cultural notes: This hotel we’re put up in is along a strip of Gardena that is “Fusion” Asian. What I mean is that there are a lot of signs designating Korean businesses and restaurants. And there are a number of Chinese restaurants. The hotel is Japanese. The staff speaks Japanese and there are Japanese businessmen around the entrance smoking. I was given an option of having either an American or Japanese breakfast tomorrow morning. (I will have the Japanese breakfast.)

The new semester started this past week, and I’m teaching one section of philosophy to juniors and seniors. There are eleven students in my class. Each of them is thoughtful and bright - they really are. And their sharp minds keep me on my toes.

The basic “rules” of the class are: 1) Think. 2) Think again.

The idea is to speak thoughtfully and critically. (”Critical” - to help bring clarity to what is being discussed.)

In other news, I am spending a lot of time on my photoblog and looking at others. This past week I’ve worked on the templates and getting the presentation in order. Also, I’m trying to take and post one quality photo a day. I hope that I’m able to do it. That means keeping my camera with me.

Of note, here are some photoblogs that I like:

• Frame Not Included: Three guys in Oslo post on this blog. I like it because they capture everyday life. That’s my intention on my photoblog.
• Kevin Crafts: Light and Dark Photography. Kevin is just good. Not only is he a good photographer, but he contributes a lot of technical “know-how” to the photoblogging community by creating add-ons for PixelPost.
• Manuel Guerzoni takes daily photos in San Francisco - it’s a masterful photoblog.

I’m in New York City for the annual forum of the College Board.

It is difficult being out of southern California during a time of crisis, because I know that my family, friends and colleagues are dealing with a powerful event day-to-day right now.

I’ve heard that the air quality has deteriorated since I left town Wednesday morning. School was closed yesterday and will be again today.

I met a former student for dinner Wednesday night, who was in the first class of students I worked with as a college counselor, when I was at The Branson School in Marin County. This student went to college in northern New England and is now doing very good work in New York City that is helping underperforming schools improve. It was exciting for me to hear about the project.

Yesterday, a former student and I met for coffee at New York University. There’s something good about seeing the independence that kids can develop in college. I’m all about encouraging students to develop their voice and their values.

Today is pretty packed with workshops I’m interested in attending. And the Forum Social is tonight. Fortunately, it’s across the street from the hotel I’m staying at.