because the leadership of the aps would like the public to focus on a few superficial accountability issues; the journal and trib have reported only on those superficial issues. there is no investigation or reporting upon the fundamental issue which is; the culture in the leadership of the aps, as it pertains to accountability.
if there is an infection in an animal body, there will be manifestations of the infection; fever, headache, etc. and if only the symptoms are treated; the infection continues unabated.
if there is an infection in an institution there will be manifestations as well. treating them only, is also an ineffectual a cure for the fundamental infection.
the leadership of the aps has an infected culture.
the council of great city schools audit reported that it is
a culture of fear of retribution and retaliation."
the word culture is an extremely powerful word:
patterns of human activity, symbolic structures that give activity significance, the whole product of a group of intelligent beings, moral systems and characteristic behaviors, habits of the selected intelligent entities, the universal human capacity to classify, codify and communicate their experiences a defining feature of the humans, the way people live in accordance to beliefs.wikipedia (derived)
infections do not cure spontaneously nor do they cure themselves.
an external cure must be injected; the vaccine and cure is transparent accountability to a meaningful standard of conduct.
it is particularly effective cure for infectious public corruption and incompetence.
1 comment:
Culture in large school districts is quirky. I can only attest to two, one here in Albuquerque, and one in Colorado. They were two different mutant strains of the same original intent of "educate children".
JeffCo does a lot of things right, has been through the same things Albuquerque is now starting to face. And, vice versa, so can JeffCo learn things from their innovative little neighbors to the South.
Retribution and retaliation in culture, I think, is becoming more generally "tolerable" as time progresses. Humans tend to forget the lessons of the past, when marginalizing always leads down the slope to genocide. Oh, APS is not outright murdering anyone, true, and some in APS are true paragons of ethics, even when it is unpopular.
I know a little of safety culture change dynamics. It is tricky and involves top down and bottom up with middle out implementation to REALLY WORK AND STICK. Even then, you better keep things going and keep someone on top of changes that affect safety practices.
I bet that culture change in general is much the same. Everyone through the culture has to feel the need for it and do it simultaneously. It has to be funded and approved, workshops and such. Ongoing training integrated into the already tight (maybe near impossibly tight) mandated training.
So how, then, do we resolve the theoretical problem you propose of a public entity which employs individuals who will not change because they will no longer hold sway over those with less power? I say you are doing it right now. The more people who choose to think and make decisions based on the totality of the facts instead of platitudes and aphorisms, the more sense we can vote into government. And if we bring malfeasance or graft to the attention of virtuous individuals within government, our concerns will be looked at with impartiality.
I HOPE.
J. H. Lopez
Former school employee
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