Leave a comment Posted on female umpire, Jen Pawol, MLB umpires

Jen Pawol–Welcome to the Bigs

Jen Pawol, the first female umpire in Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball, the oldest professional sports group in the United States dating back to 1876, has the distinction of being the first sports organization to break the color barrier in 1947 when Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson.

Nearly 30 years later, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson became the first non-white manager in baseball.

So one would think that MLB would continue their trailblazing ways in other facets of the game; for example, hiring female umpires.  Not until August 9 of this year did MLB have one.  Her name:  Jen Pawol.

Other sports beat baseball to this breakthrough by several years.  The National Basketball Association (est. 1946) hired their first female referees in 1997:  Dee Kanter and Violet Palmer.  The National Football League (est. 1920) hired their first female official in 2015:  Sarah Thomas.

Baseball was the first, however, when it came to hiring the first female general manager of any sport: Kim Ng of the Miami Marlins in 2020.

Last Saturday, Pawol umpired at first base for the Marlins-Braves game in Atlanta.  Some of the fans applauded her as she walked onto the field.  Many of the players wished her well.

At her postgame press conference, Pawol was genuinely appreciative of the support MLB, her family and friends and even fans have shown her.  She did not hide her thrill of having her dream come true, 10 years in the making. 

“I always wanted to umpire.  I knew I had the bug . . . in my DNA.  Then making it into a career I realized, wow, I could be a major leaguer.”

Umpire crew chief Gene Guccione who was sitting next to Pawol said that “This is one of the proudest moments I’ve been part of in my career.” 

When asked what was the most special moment for her, she said it was “pretty powerful and awesome” to see her friends and family in the stands.

I’m sure there are people who oppose female umpires.  Yet, why prevent someone who can do a job to do that job?  When I saw her emotions describing her journey, I couldn’t help but think of how inspirational it must be to all the little girls who play or watch sports, to see that someone that looks like them can umpire baseball?

Guccione added that “it gives me chills even thinking about . . .the magnitude of this whole thing and how hard she’s worked.  My daughter was so excited to meet Jen.  [She’s] a great role model for girls and women and I am so proud of her.”

One other thing crossed my mind.  How fans regularly despise any sports officials whose job it is to maintain order in a game.  How often their decisions are heckled.  These people are paid the least amount of money in sports played by millionaires and receive little to no respect.  Yet here is Jen Pawol at age 48 putting herself into the fire, not knowing how she will be received or accepted, exuding joy at just being given the opportunity to do something that she loves. 

The cap she wore umpiring is headed to Cooperstown.  I can’t wait to see it next time I visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Leave a comment Posted on A Beautiful Noise, And So It Goes, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond or Billy Joel?

If you were stranded on a deserted island and had to hear music from Neil Diamond or Billy Joel, which one would you choose?

Diamond and Joel (those are their real last names) have been on my mind recently after seeing “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” and the HBO Max documentary “Billy Joel:  And So It Goes.”  Both projects serve as close to an autobiography fans are ever going to get from these artists.

It’s remarkable to see the similarities of these pop stars. Each was born in the 1940s in a different borough of New York City:  Diamond in Brooklyn (1941) and Joel in The Bronx (1949). 

Both men are Jewish and moved to Los Angeles when they were starting out.  Diamond never left, while Joel returned to New York after a few years.

Neil Diamond and Billy Joel are two of the most prolific rock and roll singer/songwriters of their time.  Diamond has sold more than 130 million records worldwide while Joel has sold more than 150 million.

When first recording, both lacked confidence in their singing voices which is hard to believe.  Try imagining other singers recording their songs.

Each artist had 13 Top Ten hits during their prime.  For Neil Diamond, that was from 1966 to 1982; his first hit was “Cherry, Cherry”; his last was “Heartlight” in 1982.  Other hits include: “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Shilo,” “Forever in Blue Jeans”, “Solitary Man,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Song Sung Blue,” “America,” “Kentucky Woman,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” “I Am I Said.”

For Billy Joel, that was from 1973 to 1993; his first hit was “Piano Man” and his last was “The River of Dreams.”  Other hits include:  “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out,” “A Matter of Trust,” “An Innocent Man,” “She’s Always a Woman,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “New York State of Mind,” “My Life,” “The Longest Time,” “Allentown.”  Most impressive is that Joel had success covering more years but with fewer studio albums:  13 to Diamond’s 43.

Each artist wrote a song that shared a common opening of naming famous people.  Diamond’s 1970 “Done Too Soon” mentions 25 celebrities while Joel’s 1989 “We Didn’t Start the Fire” references 118 including major news stories.  

Both married multiple times:  Diamond had three wives, Joel four.  Diamond has four children, Joel three daughters, two from his most recent marriage.  Both smoked, though Diamond quit decades ago.

Their upbringing differed, however.  Diamond had a more stable home life than Joel’s with supportive parents.  While their envisioned their son getting a steady job like a doctor, they gave him a guitar for his 16th birthday. 

Joel was a prodigy who began playing piano at age four.  His parents were supportive of their son’s talent, but his father wanted him to play classical music.  When he heard Billy adding a rock and roll tempo to a classic piece, he smacked the side of his heard.  At eight years old, his father left the family.  Years later, Joel sought out his father to discover he was living in Vienna and had another son.

Joel has struggled with depression and addiction.  In his early 20’s, he attempted suicide twice.

Both artists extended their careers delivering electric live performances:  Diamond performed over 1,700 concerts while Joel did over 2,400.  They toured into their 70’s.

Earlier this year, Joel was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) forcing him to cancel concerts.  Diamond finished touring in 2017 after discovering he had Parkinson’s disease.

Back to my opening question, who would I choose if I were on that deserted island?  While I have enjoyed both men’s oeuvre, I’d have to choose Billy Joel.  His melodies have more complexity, his lyrics speak to a deeper analysis of the human spirit and his songs haven’t dated as much as Diamond’s. 

Additionally, as an instrumentalist, Joel is a more gifted pianist than Diamond is a guitarist. 

Recently I saw “A Beautiful Noise” and noticed that most of the audience was older than me.  When I saw Joel’s Madison Square Garden concert on TV last fall, most of the audience was younger.  His musicality still resonates.

Neil Diamond

Billy Joel

1 Comment Posted on Jaws, John Williams, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Steven Spielberg, Universal Studios

Fifty years later, “Jaws” still bites

It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed since “Jaws” was released in July of 1975.  I was in Palm Springs with my family when we went to see it at the Plaza theatre.  I took the paperback of the Peter Benchley novel with me so that I could finish it in our motel room before seeing the movie.  It remains one of the most memorable film experiences I’ve ever had.

Earlier this month I watched “Jaws” for the first time in many years along with my 21-year-old son who had never seen it.

In order to temper unrealistic expectations on his part regarding a 50-year-old film, I explained to him that “Jaws” was made 20 years before CGI came on to the scene.  Spielberg was one of the first directors to use CGI for 1994’s “Jurassic Park.”  Even then, he insisted on using practical effects with the dinosaurs and not rely solely on computers.

Smartly, Spielberg reveals little of the shark until the climax.  When it is finally shown as it breaches onto the boat swallowing Shaw’s Quint, the use of a mechanical puppet is frightening since he is actually interacting with a real object and not reacting to nothing but a green screen.My son came away impressed.

What elevates “Jaws” from other excellent movies is the impact its success had on the movie industry.

The summer blockbuster.  Before “Jaws,” studios did not release their best pictures during the summer due to many theatres not having air-conditioning.  Once “Jaws” opened to packed theatres, it became clear that people would stand in line for an “event” film no matter the weather.  “Jaws” earned $260 million domestically in its initial release.  Two years later, “Star Wars” would open Memorial Day weekend and surpass that mark, earning over $300 million.  Thus, the summer blockbuster was born.

Wide release.  Eschewing the common exhibition practice of opening a film in a small number of theatres, gradually expanding over several weeks, “Jaws” opened in over 400 theatres.  This greatly boosted its earnings at a faster clip (this was before multiplexes became commonplace).

Trailers on TV.  It was uncommon to advertise new movies on television.  Universal Studios aired commercials a few days before the release of “Jaws” thus generating high interest. 

Just as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 “Psycho” made people afraid to take showers, “Jaws” made people fearful of swimming in the ocean.

Additionally, “Jaws” catapulted the careers of Steven Spielberg, John Williams (who would go on and score the bulk of Spielberg’s canon), Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss.  Before “Jaws,” Robert Shaw had established himself as an in-demand character actor for a quarter of a century which explains why his name had the highest position in the credits.  Sadly, his career would be cut short, dying three years later at age 51from a heart attack.

Making “Jaws” took longer and cost more than expected.   Since much of the film was shot in Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, the sea water damaged the 25-foot mechanical shark that was the film’s main prop leading to numerous delays.

The original 55 days of shooting tripled to 159, while the $3.5 million budget ballooned to $12 million.  A new documentary on the making of the movie depicts the stress that Spielberg was under, especially when hearing that studio bosses were thinking of shutting down the production.

Once filming finished, Spielberg had a full-blown panic attack.  He thought he would never work in Hollywood again.

Spielberg revealed that it took him years to overcome this anxiety, often having nightmares even after achieving great success.  To overcome his trauma, he would secretly board the Orca boat, part of the “Jaws” stop on the Universal Hollywood Studios tour, and lay down in the cabin to calm himself.

Leave a comment Posted on Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax

Clayton Kershaw, the Greatest Dodger Pitcher

Most baseball experts view Dodger legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax’s six-year run of outstanding dominance (1961-1966) as the best of any to ever play the game.  Unfortunately, Koufax had to retire at age 30 due to arm problems which limited his career numbers.

It could be argued that Clayton Kershaw is the greatest Dodger pitcher when it comes to longevity.

In his 18th season at age 37, Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout on Wednesday to place him in an elite group of 20 pitchers who have reached that milestone.  No other Dodger is on that list.  It came on his 100th pitch of the night, the final out of the sixth inning.  That allowed a more extended time to celebrate Kershaw and his remarkable achievement with the fans and his family.  How magical was that!

It’s nice to know that Koufax has been Kershaw’s inspiration whenever Sandy visited spring training camps.  Kershaw was the one Dodger player to speak at the dedication ceremony of Koufax’s statue.  How nice a coincidence that both pitchers are lefties and have last names that start with ‘K’ which is shorthand for strikeout.

Kershaw won the Cy Young award three times in 2011, 2013, 2014, that last year also winning the MVP award.  Only 20 other pitchers in the history of the game have earned that honor.

Look at how Kershaw compares to others in the 3,000-strikeout club:

  • He is one of four left-handed pitchers on that list; Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and CC Sabathia are the others.
  • He is one of three pitchers who stayed with the same team for their entire careers; Walter Johnson (Washington Senators) and Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals) are the others.
  • He ranks fourth with the most strikeouts per nine innings.
  • He ranks second behind Walter Johnson (2.17) with the lowest career ERA of 2.52.
  • He ranks first with the highest winning percentage of .697 (216-94), meaning 70 percent of his decisions were victories.

What makes these achievements even more remarkable is the type of player and person Kershaw is:   

  • He’s a modest man who puts his team ahead of his individual feats.  To prove how true that is, last year when he was injured and hardly pitched, he was ecstatic about the Dodgers winning the World Series even though he admitted he had nothing to do with it. 
  • He leads by example.  His teammates marvel at his strict discipline in his preparation, adhering tightly to a timed routine that never varies which explains his consistency.
  • He is a competitor who pitches even better when there is traffic on the bases.
  • He is a decent person who never swears on the mound, a man of faith, who along with his wife Ellen has raised over $23 million assisting at-risk children and their families around the world with their Kershaw’s Challenge organization.

In his press conference after the game, he mentioned one pitcher in his time with whom he modeled himself after:  CC Sabathia.   Kershaw mentioned how Sabathia would often pitch on short rest and put his team on his shoulders during the playoffs.  Sounds like Kershaw and his competitive approach to the game.  No matter how many tough times he’s had in the playoffs, he’s the first one willing to push his body to its limits to help out his team.

I had a hard time deciding whether to attend Wednesday’s game. The big draw was the high chance that Kershaw would reach 3,000 strikeouts—he only needed three more. When you go to a game, there’s no guarantee your team will win or that you’ll witness something extraordinary like a no-hitter. But this felt like a near certainty. However, ticket prices had skyrocketed. In the end, my rational side won over my emotions, and I chose to watch the game on TV. That was a mistake.

That’s why when Kershaw is elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years after he retires, I will travel to Cooperstown to see that happen.   It’s the least I could do to pay my respects to a man who has given me so many wonderful moments as a Dodger fan.

1 Comment Posted on Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, The Man Who Invented Television, Todd S. Purdum

I Love Desi

I just read the new book, Desi Arnaz:  The Man Who Invented Television by Todd S. Purdum, and came away with a higher appreciation for Arnaz, who some pejoratively referred to as Mr. Lucille Ball.

Arnaz was the mastermind behind “I Love Lucy” and Desilu Studios.  He’s responsible for moving television production from the east coast to the west in the 1950s, establishing situational comedies shot on film in front of a live audience, and conceiving of re-runs, the concept that networks could earn money by airing repeat viewings instead of paying for summer replacement shows.

“I Love Lucy” was created to keep the Arnazes together after 10 years of marriage which included long periods of separation due to Desi’s orchestra being on the road.

In 1950, Lucille Ball had a popular radio show, “My Favorite Husband.”  When TV executives sought new series to develop, they harvested radio shows to make the transition.

What resulted was “I Love Lucy” which only happened after CBS and their sponsor Philip Morris agreed to their demands: that Desi replace actor Richard Denning as Lucy’s husband, and that the show be produced in Los Angeles where they had their home.

At the time, most TV shows were produced in New York and nearly all were aired live on the east coast with movie cameras capturing the shows off television monitors in order to air them in other time zones.  Called kinescopes, these were of inferior quality compared to a show produced directly using motion picture cameras (videotape didn’t exist yet).

Reluctantly, the network agreed to all their terms including having the show filmed in front of a live audience with a revolutionary three-camera concept.  Famed cinematographer Karl Freund figured how to properly light the set for both long and close-up shots as all cameras simultaneously captured the action.  By having the show filmed allowed for high quality repeats to air.

When “I Love Lucy” premiered on Oct. 15, 1951, it quickly rose to become the number one rated show in America for four of its six seasons.

Near the end of the 1950’s, Desilu was producing more shows for television than any other studio.

He was the first Latino to head a major studio, Desilu, which at one time had more programming on television than any other studio.  In fact, to this day, no other Latino has held such a powerful position in Hollywood.

Unfortunately, such success led to Desi spending long hours at the studio, leaving his wife and children alone.   It’s ironic that the show was created to ensure they had more time for themselves, but instead the opposite happened which ultimately led the couple to divorce in 1960 after 20 years of marriage.

Sadly, Desi Arnaz never received an Emmy nomination for his performance (Lucille Ball earned two Emmys for the show).

Lucille Ball was Arnaz’s strongest supporter of what he accomplished as a studio mogul.  She’d always give him credit for creating the show and running Desilu successfully while so many in the Hollywood community didn’t.

Once they went on with their separate lives, they remained close.  He would continue producing her TV program “The Lucy Show” and near the end of his life, Ball visited him at his house in Del Mar.  According to daughter Lucie Arnaz, the last phone call they had with one another occurred on their wedding anniversary, Nov 30, 1986, with each one repeating “I love you” to the other.  Two days later, Arnaz passed away.

When Ball received the Kennedy Centers honors five days later, actor Robert Stack, star of the Desilu-produced “The Untouchables,” read a note from Desi which ended:  “I Love Lucy was never just a title.”

Leave a comment Posted on California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

Get Ready for Less Qualified Teachers

This year, over 17,000 teaching credentials will be issued in California, not enough to fill about 25,000 vacancies.  In order to encourage more people to go into teaching, a new state law was passed in 2024 allowing anyone with a bachelor’s degree to get accepted into a teacher credential program.   It is no longer necessary to pass a test to assess a candidate’s basic knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic.  It is no longer necessary to have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s Executive Director Mary Vixie Sandy said that “now is a great time for anyone with a qualifying bachelor’s degree” to become a teacher.

Why is allowing less qualified people into the profession viewed as a good thing?

Instead of fixing what ails the teaching profession, namely a lack of prestige, competitive salaries and support from administration and parents, the state is lowering the qualifications to attract more people into the classroom.  If anything, higher minimum requirements is the first step in ensuring only qualified people be allowed to teach.

If this approach were applied to the medical field, with an influx of doctors who could not otherwise meet basic requirements suddenly earning medical degrees, they’d be an uproar about health care.

For some reason, when it comes to education, there isn’t any pushback that more inexperienced, less academic people will be teaching young people.  But it gets worse.

To meet the demands of the teacher shortage, school districts are hiring people on an emergency credential that pays them a full salary without taking the two years of coursework and student teaching that traditional candidates complete.

Even those teachers who do the full credential coursework and earn a credential aren’t destined to be effective teachers.

I know this first-hand from my work as a university field supervisor who visits schools where the teachers in training work.  My job is to observe a candidate teach between three to six lessons over an 18-week semester, then evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

More important than someone like me is the mentor teacher who observes the teacher candidate every day, reviewing their lessons and offering suggestions.   It’s crucial that the mentors are highly qualified.  Unfortunately, many are not. 

College credential programs don’t have the luxury of vetting mentors due to how few classroom teachers show interest in that role.   That’s because not enough excellent teachers are willing to hand over a couple of their classes to a novice.  Often, those who become mentors are those who are looking for a lighter workload.

That’s why the evaluation forms from the mentors may not be an accurate assessment of a student teacher’s abilities.  After all, how can an ineffective teacher help a young teacher be effective? 

I often find myself assigning higher marks for candidates based on the inflated evaluation of the mentors.  It is difficult for someone like me to hold higher standards since the mentor is seeing so much more of the candidate.  How can I justify lower marks when I’m only observing six lessons, while the mentor observes 90 lessons?

My job observing student teachers for the past four years is frequently disappointing and sometimes depressing.  Still, each semester I meet that one young teacher who has a knack for working with kids, a desire to help children with their academics and their lives.  That’s what keeps me going, a flame of faith that for some students, their future will be bright.

1 Comment Posted on death of a family member, sibling love

Sibling Love

Throughout my 67 years of life, I have shared my entire existence with only two individuals: my brother, Greg, and my sister, Debra.  The three of us have indelible positive memories of growing up together, and that glue hasn’t dried up.   As each of us have left home and gotten married, starting our own families, we continued seeing each other to celebrate birthdays and holidays together as the original Crosbys, a bond unbroken, transcending any differences in politics or lifestyle.

We weathered losing our father at the age of 60 in 1973, when we were 24, 20, and 14.  When we lost our mother at age 82 in 2006, it was a wake-up call that our generation would be next in line to pass away.

We were fortunate to live almost two decades before another funeral.  Sadly, a few weeks ago, Greg’s wife, Jane, passed away.  They were married for 47 years.  Losing a spouse is a deeper loss than losing one’s parents because it is one’s life partner.  People live with their parents for on average of 20 years, but marriages can last more than double that length. 

When people find out how long a couple is married, it is applauded:  25, 30, 50 years.  Yet the longer a person is with their partner, the harder it is to live without that companion. My brother was blessed to have 47 years with his wife, nearly twice as many as our parents had.  The longer the marriage, the deeper the loss.

For my sister and I it is difficult watching our brother grieve, a life experience neither one of us has had.   I already have friends who have lost a sibling so we’re lucky that the three of us are still around.  But when the time comes for one of us to leave, it will be yet another unpleasant loss. 

I’ve often thought that when a person close to us passes away, in an odd way, their passing is a gift to us:  a reminder of how precious life is.  With each passing, there is increased urgency so make the most of the remainder of one’s years.  And it is the duty of the living to keep alive the memory of those who meant so much to us.

1 Comment Posted on Original Pantry Cafe, Richard Riordan

Mourning the loss of The Pantry

We all want to live a long life.  However, if we live long enough, we will end up outliving things that bring us joy such as our favorite restaurants.

Case in point, the Original Pantry Café in downtown Los Angeles which survived over a century before closing last week.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan who died in 2023 loved the restaurant he owned so much that in 1985 he made sure that the air space above the one-story structure (where it moved to in 1950) would be protected from development.

Those managing his trust which benefits several charities want to maximize the wealth of its portfolio by selling the restaurant at the intersection of 9th and Figueroa to generate more revenue.

I will miss the grilled sourdough toast, the overflowing plate of crunchy-on-top potatoes and the bottomless mug of joe.   All of that could be resurrected if a new location could be found, but what will forever be lost will be the physical space which remained unchanged for 75 years as well as the employees, some of whom had decades of experience.

The décor remained constant:  high-back wooden chairs, white Formica tables with condiments, huge menu boards adorning the walls, and the line of people outside, always a line, wrapping down its 9th Street side as if hugging an old friend. 

As everyone patiently waited for one of the waiters to step outside to call the next customer, it was easy talking to strangers in front or in back of you, one of the few downtown places where pleasantries were exchanged; it made everyone feel connected to our common city.

There were two doors guarding the interior:  one for entering and the other for exiting.  In order to leave, the traffic flow led customers to a small enclosure (like an old bank) where the cashier sat on a stool.  Your belly was full and life was good.

That small corner piece of real estate created countless memories for those of us who frequented it as one of the few eateries open 24 hours (until the Pandemic), a beacon for night owls like my friends who would head over there following a 10:00 p.m. movie at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater, or a 4:00 a.m. breakfast after staying up all night.  In either case, it was the perfect L.A. nightcap. 

I was a teenager when I “discovered” The Pantry, always ordering breakfast. When all the other restaurants in the L.A. area were closed, you could always count on getting something good to eat at the Pantry and feel blanketed by its history.  

When I last went to The Pantry months ago it was celebrating its centennial.  I purchased a new Pantry mug since the logo on my one at home had long ago vanished.  Now that the Pantry has vanished, I cling to the new mug I have, a reminder of good times.

Angelenos are familiar with the heartbreak of iconic restaurant closures, most notably the Pacific Dining Car (1921-2020).  We still have century-old establishments such as Cole’s (1908), Philippe’s (1908), Musso and Frank’s (1919), Tam O’Shanter (1922), and El Cholo (1923). That’s why it behooves us all to keep returning to them while they remain.

When a business lasts for over 100 years in Los Angeles it is a miracle.  And now we have one less miracle in our lives.

The Pantry was THE diner of Los Angeles, a “welcome to L.A.” ambassador that lasted through 17 U.S. Presidents.  It nourished us not only with comfort food, but history of the city.  People need places like these to nourish one’s soul.  Like a friend who passes away, it’s painful knowing that you can never go back to it again.

Leave a comment Posted on California State University, credential programs, mentor teachers, student teacher, student teaching

Average is Not Good Enough For Kids

News alert:  The people entering the teaching profession are less proficient than their older counterparts and they are the ones that carry the mantle of education America’s youth.

In education, there are two checkpoints during a new teacher’s journey towards earning a teaching license:  entering a university credential program and passing a year of student teaching.

If during this process either of these two checkpoints fail to weed out weak candidates, credentials will be handed out, a golden ticket to gaining lifetime employment in a school.

That’s why it is essential that the requirements remain high to ensure that children receive a quality education.

The California State University system is the largest of its kind in issuing teaching credentials.  Part of the requirements used to determine eligibility for a credential program is a college student’s grade point average or GPA.  The long-standing benchmark used to be a minimum 3.0 or ‘B’ average.  In recent years, however, 16 of the 22 CSU campuses have lowered the GPA:  six use 2.75 or 2.67 (B-), eight use 2.5 (C+) and one uses a 2.0 (C).

Evidently, not enough smart people are choosing teaching as a career so somehow the credential-issuing mechanisms have to come up with ways to allow subpar people to fill classroom positions.   It’s a paradox that those who don’t excel at academic achievement choose a job that requires teaching young people to excel academically.

Once weaker candidates gain entrance into the program, the final step is to teach a few classes in a real classroom with a mentor teacher present.  If the candidates earn passing scores on evaluation forms, they walk away with a license to teach.

Sadly, some that accept the role of mentor are not the best in the business.  Often a school-wide email goes out asking for volunteers.  While some effective teachers willingly sign up, too many other ineffective ones look at mentoring as a way to lessen their workload.  Instead, universities should be aggressively recruiting high quality mentors which means paying them more than $150 per semester.

The evaluation forms themselves are problematic.  A candidate is evaluated based on dozens of teacher behaviors using a three-point scale:  exceeds, meets or below standards.  As long as a student teacher has no more than five “below” standards, that candidate receives a credential.  Shouldn’t that candidate earn five “above” standards to even the score?

Think about the uproar if in the medical field, surgeons who barely passed were those who instructed interns on the finer details of surgery.

In addition to the mentor teacher’s evaluation, universities use former teachers and administrators to observe and evaluate as well.  However, these field supervisors only watch a handful of lessons compared to the nearly 90 viewed by the mentor teacher.  That is why it’s critical to ensure that mentor teachers are the best in the business:  they are the last bulwark against ineffective teachers populating classrooms.

Leave a comment Posted on Eaton fire, Los Angeles fire, Palisades fire

Los Angeles on Fire

When I dropped off my laptop at the Apple Store to be repaired on Jan. 6, the outlook was gloomy knowing I wouldn’t have a computer for at least a week.

My self-pity vanished quickly the next day when Santa Ana winds gusting at hurricane speeds up to 100 mph whipped across the Los Angeles basin, the strongest I’ve ever remembered in my lifetime.

First, a huge avocado branch from our neighbor’s yard broke off and blocked our driveway.  After 30, I lost track of how many avocados I picked up.  Damn that wind.

Later that day, a fire broke out in the Pacific Palisades.  I turned on local news to discover this wasn’t just any conflagration that only threatened homes—it was disintegrating them into ashes.

By the end of the day, another fire broke out in Altadena, named the Eaton fire.  Evacuation alerts shook people’s smart phones.  Firefighters futilely fought the wind-swept flames as they devoured blocks of houses.  Usually, a neighborhood wiped out by fire occurred in remote, mountainous areas.  Never have I seen such destruction in highly populated areas.

Every local news channel had 24-hour coverage without commercials.  Just as firefighters from around the country, and even from Mexico, flew into L.A. to battle the blazes, reporters out of state were arriving into town to cover the widespread destruction.

Wednesday morning, the sunrise looked apocalyptic, the sky nearly dark with enormous smoke clouds mimicking an eclipse.  This was no ordinary event.

In the next couple of days, four more smaller fires would break out.  I felt for those who had to evacuate and those who lost all of their homes and possessions.  This tragedy touched us more because we also live in a hillside region. 

Back in 2017, the ridge not far from our house was on fire.  If we were one block closer to the mountains we would have had to evacuate.  However, that fire was contained before it swept down the ridge.  This tragedy was a wake-up call that such destruction could happen to us.

For the next two weeks, Los Angeles made international headlines.  On all media platforms, one could not escape images of burning homes and people weeping.  With thousands of structures destroyed, drone cameras showed land that looked as if a bomb had hit it.

Wherever we went, no matter who we encountered—a neighbor, a server at a restaurant, a person in line at a store—we felt compelled to “check in” on them:  are they okay?  Everyone knew someone who had been evacuated and who had lost their home.  All Angelenos felt terrible that their city was hurting. 

Our hearts go out to those who are homeless and now have to figure out a path of recovery.  This natural disaster most likely will become the worst in U.S. history in terms of financial cost.  Miraculously, only a couple of dozen people lost their lives.  About 8,000 people died in the Great Galveston storm of 1900.

The one bright light among the devastation were the countless volunteers who have donated goods and who have helped shelter those in need, including pets.  Oddly, tragedies bring out the best in people.  A reminder that through the thicket of noise about how divided people are about politics rises the common humanity that binds us as a people.