Penn State Commonwealth Campuses Closing

Any time I write about Penn State I feel a need to explain my connection to the University.  So here goes:

I have two degrees from Penn State.  I am a life member of the Alumni Association.  I served on the Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Society board.  I helped fund a Penn State scholarship.  Penn State will be a beneficiary of my estate.  In fact, I've contributed more to Penn State over the years than I have any other organization.  

The above out of the way, Penn State is making news these days regarding decisions that will be made soon about closing some of the Commonwealth Campuses.  For the uninitiated, "Commonwealth Campuses" is the Penn State euphemism for anything outside of State College, PA. Here's the official press release from the University's President:

https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/message-president-bendapudi-commonwealth-campuses

Personally important to me in the announcement is the following:

"To provide clarity, I want to affirm that our seven largest Commonwealth Campuses – Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, and Lehigh Valley – along with our graduate education-focused campus at Great Valley, will remain open and we will continue to invest in them." 

All of this is tied, however, to a larger question about the very role of the Commonwealth Campuses.  To understand this, you need to first realize something about Penn State's unwritten culture, namely that the Commonwealth Campuses have, throughout their existence, been viewed as a kind of second-class citizenry within the larger world of the university.  In fact, for many inside of the State College world, their existence is barely acknowledged.  On more than one occasion, I've mentioned to someone that my bachelor's degree is from Penn State Harrisburg, which inevitably elicited the following response:  "Oh, is that one of the satellite campuses?  Where is that?  I didn't know you could get a bachelor's degree there.".  Note the "Where is that?" comment, as apparently Pennsylvania Geography isn't a popular course in State College.  

How can I say the above?  What gives me the right?

See my disclaimer, above.  I've also had this discussion with Penn State staff many times over the years.  I've shared my opinion with university leaders at every opportunity.  What I'm noting is less of an opinion and more of a fact, all be it one that some in State College (and those who "just" attended State College) would just as soon not share in public.  The Commonwealth Campuses have existed basically just as a way to funnel those not as well-heeled students to State College at the start of their junior year (a.k.a., those who were unable to gain entrance to State College for their freshman year).  At best, many simply view them as this...

...meaning that they have no identity other than being a step stool.  A kind of Penn State version of baseball’s minor leagues*, without the colorful mascots and team logos.  That's been a conscious choice on the part of Penn State leadership for decades, both at the campuses themselves as well as in State College.  Penn State Harrisburg is (apparently) surviving in part because of its separate identity outside of the State College bubble, and its reputation in South Central Pennsylvania.  That same notion of having a separate identity also applies to the Law School, Medical School and Penn College of Technology.  

I will note that the university has invested in the physical locations of many Commonwealth Campuses.  But the physical plant does nothing to change the culture of an institution, and in the world of Penn State, that culture is squarely State College-centric.  With an ever-increasing use of virtual university options, including Penn State World Campus, it's pretty clear that buildings alone are less important to the university's story.

So, is the present state, with pending closures, inevitable?

I think the answer to the above question is a solid yes and no.  

Yes, in the sense that the university may have over-extended the Commonwealth Campus system.  Some of the campuses are just too close to each other, and as noted above, the Penn State World Campus clearly now takes students out of the traditional Penn State hierarchy.  40+ years ago I don't think anyone could have seen how higher education has changed in the Unites States as a whole.

No, in the sense that the university has never really made the Commonwealth Campuses an important part of the Penn State identity, let alone part of the university experience (in essence, what it means to be a Penn Stater).  See the stepstool graphic.  And again, this has been a conscious choice.  For much of the State College leadership, everything outside of Happy Valley is a footnote of sorts to the Penn State story.  When the only important things happening are in State College, then it's not shocking that some other campuses may just fade away.

In the end, crocodile tears will be shed by those physically (and for many alumni mentally) in State College, but then they will likely cheer for the additional resources available to, in their eyes, "the real" Penn State.  For the rest of us invested in Penn State outside of the State College bubble, this will be a sad time, reinforcing a status we've all known has existed for a very long time.

=====

(*) I would be willing to bet my last dime that there are some Penn State graduates that have heard this news and reacted with a solid expression of "So what?".  That, more so than anything I've written in this posting, proves my point about Penn State’s unwritten culture and the Commonwealth Campuses’ place in the university’s hierarchy.

The Horrible List: Penn State (still, kind of, and needlessly I will add)

Preface:  I have two degrees from Penn State.  I am a life member of the Alumni Association.  I served on the Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Society board.  I helped fund a Penn State scholarship.  Penn State will be a beneficiary of my estate.  In fact, I've contributed more to Penn State over the years than I have any other organization.  Simply put, I have earned the right to be critical of PSU.

* * * * * *

When the words "Penn State" and "Horrible" are mentioned in a sentence, it usually is because of the legacy of the abuse scandal that occurred late during the tenure of former coach Joe Paterno.  That's not where I am going with this posting.  Instead, this is my target:

Source:  https://onwardstate.com/2017/02/14/onward-stats-penn-states-enrollment-throughout-history/

The numbers noted in the chart above are 6 years old, but they still support my main point:  A majority of Penn State students are not affiliated with University Park.  In fact, the 52.32% of students outside of University Park in 2016 almost definitely is an understatement of the present university enrollment.  Wikipedia (I know, a questionable source at best) shows current Penn State World Campus enrollment at 14,687 (citation HERE).

Yet, as someone who is the recipient of a ton of Penn State literature (see the preface), the vast majority of the visual content I receive is overwhelmingly related to University Park.  So is the vast majority of what I'll call the "Penn State speak" in how the university communicates to its alumni.  For me, it's been, at times, disheartening.  Penn State was an enormous part of my formal education and it's where I view myself as having learned, in part, to be an adult.  It's just that the "Big Penn State" wants my Penn State experience to be defined by football games, the creamery, fraternities, Thon, etc.  Note that I was in my 40's before I visited State College for the first time.

I have, for the record, told my Penn State story to anyone and everyone at the university who would listen.  This includes fellow alumni, the development office, annual alumni surveys, and various other ways.  I've gotten some tacit admissions in the past that I'm probably right in my assessment of things (the University Park centric model of the Penn State universe), but the marketing machine that is PSU will not be swayed.  It's basically been a repeat of a discussion I had many, many years ago with another Penn State alumni, who when I told them that I graduated from Penn State Harrisburg, their response was "Oh, is that some kind of satellite campus?".  I shook my head in disgust.  It was as if this person somehow wanted to relegate me to the unpopular kid's table in the junior high school cafeteria.

Thinking about solutions though, there is a kind of two-fold response to all of this for me.

First, Penn State's World Campus will continue to grow in the years and decades to come.  This, not University Park, will drive Penn State's growth in the future.  This will also create even more alumni with zero connection to University Park. Maybe some of these folks will, like me, end up working in small ways to change Penn State.  Alienation is a powerful motivator.  These changes could include more non-University Park-centric members of the Alumni Council and other advisory bodies within the university.    

Second, 100% of all the support I have provided to Penn State, both in terms of time and money (not an enormous amount in absolute terms, but significant for me), has gone to Penn State Harrisburg.  No amount will ever go to supporting any facet of operations or programs at University Park. 

In the end, I know that some will take this posting as sounding petty and superficial.  That's okay, by the way.  I wouldn't be writing this though if I didn't care deeply for Penn State, which, as I previously noted, dramatically changed my life for the better.  It is precisely because of this that I want Penn State to be better for all of its students and alumni.   Cultural change is never easy, but that doesn't make it unworthy of the effort.  And Penn State is worth the effort.

We Were Just Never Well Trained

(Brace's Orchard, Dallas, PA)

Towards the end of my second year of college, as I was trying to figure out just what I wanted to do with my life, one of my engineering instructors attempted to provide his students with some helpful life guidance.  This was in the form of a short, written piece that talked about how the educational system "taught people how to pick apples".  That's about 80% of what I remember.  The other 20% was something along the lines of how education fails to teach us what is actually important, i.e., why we should pick apples and why apples are good for us.  

I wish I would have read that piece, but at the time, it just didn't leave that much of an impression on me.  I think that proved the point the article was trying to make, by the way.  Ironically though, as I grew older, I began to appreciate Professor Joe Burinsky's attempt at enlightening his students.

I was thinking about that point this past week as I was talking and listening to stories about how many of us were programmed with this directive in mind.  It was important to pick more apples than anyone else.  If you weren't the chief apple-picker then you were doing something wrong.  Those last two points make a lot of sense if you are the person that owns the apple trees to be picked.  For the apple pickers themselves?  Not so much.  Now at first blush, this is a bit of a stretch of the original idea behind what I thought was the whole apple-picking narrative, as that had to do with education.  After I thought about it some more though, it really is the same thing.

Our education system, it seems, is basically just designed to create good apple pickers.

Now we do need apple-pickers, both figuratively and in reality.  But we are painfully poor when it comes to equipping individuals to deal with the truly weighty aspects of life.  I'm not suggesting that formal education is the solution to teaching young people how to deal with real-life questions of substance, but I am suggesting that it at least needs to make an effort.

Yes, by the way, some teachers, such as my oldest daughter Katrina (proud father moment), do teach more than just the formal curriculum (i.e., apple-picking).  But that comes from her desire to expose her students to things they aren't going to experience otherwise.  Shakespeare isn't normally resident in Brooklyn, except of course if you are in her English class.

Where is the effort though systemically to teach young adults how to make good personal relationship decisions?  Where is the effort to teach real financial literacy?  Where is the effort to teach them about what working in the real world is all about, specifically the importance of cultivating and having working relationships?

Again, at the risk of repeating myself, I know that these things are not owned by the formal educational system.  Much of this belongs to parents, other family members, and friends.  But the older I get, the more convinced I become that what we learn in school is to compete...for grades, for attention, for lots of things.  Good for the tree owners who need apples picked.  Bad for the people picking apples who are ultimately just executing some pre-loaded mental code.

I'll also note that some of us (myself included) were not really taught any of these non-apple picking skills as kids.  It was just expected that I would work hard and get good grades (i.e., learn how to pick apples well).  What I do know outside of apple-picking has been acquired in adulthood through a lot of trials and errors.  At age 57 that continues.

Bringing the conversation back to finish this post, I was talking to a former co-worker earlier this week.  We shared our two stories of life in the corporate apple-picking world, of working hard and trying to do our best, but ultimately being the victims of apple tree owners.  Sometimes picking apples well just isn't good enough.  That's a good lesson to learn by the way. although it would help to learn a bit earlier.

A Week of Degrees

It was what I would call a bad week.  Simply bad.  There was bad news...two suicides of public folks who seemingly had everything going for them.  There were bad body parts...in my case a left foot that impeded my ability to walk for much of the week.  There are stressful times at work.  This was one of those weeks where you look back and wonder just how you were able to somehow get by.

I confess to spending more time than I will actually account reading about the late designer Kate Spade.  As noted in another posting (HERE), I had not actually heard of her until this week.  My ability to intellectualize just about anything happening in the world was thrown asunder by the notion that this smart, incredibly successful...both financially and personally...and attractive person would end her life.  It just doesn't make sense, and that bothers me on some deep level.

For the record, I fully understand that mental health issues, in general, don't play well in a purely rational-thought driven world.  Like most feelings, well, they are best simply felt, not intellectually disassembled and analyzed like oh so many parts to a machine.  However, I am personally terrible at the former and pretty good at the later.  Feelings are hard.

By the time the news of Anthony Bourdain's suicide came to light, my ability to try and intellectually understand the intellectually un-understandable had been overloaded.  Too many feelings to understand, too many horrible past memories being dredged up.  It was just too much.

As noted above, I was also facing some physical challenges.  Thanks to a terrific family doctor, the problem with my foot was diagnosed as being an arthritis flair-up.  I had known about having arthritis in my right foot (big toe bones, to be precise), but the left foot was a new one.  The whole thing is a part of the price some of us pay for managing to get this old.  In any event, the foot is actually feeling better.

Adding to the mix is a series of challenges at work.  As I am learning, the notion of control is important to me.  I am at my best when I feel as if I have things under control.  I am at my worst when I feel the opposite.  One of the reasons why I struggle with delegation is because I don't feel comfortable relinquishing control over something.  That's not about the competence of the people I work with (all of whom are extraordinarily competent, for the record); no, that's about how I was raised and the notion that so much of that time in my life left out of control.  Anyway, at work right now there is a lot going on and I simply can't control everything.  It's not humanly possible.  Those two seemingly in conflict things drive my personal anxiety levels to the point where it's no wonder...maybe...that something like arthritis decides to make its presence known.

The seemingly final exclamation mark to my week happened Saturday morning when I had to assist my youngest brother.  He's a wonderful person, but like so many, technologically challenged.  After this past week, I had about...

...patience left.  Technical issues were solved, but it felt as if I had gotten hit by a club.  Again.

Then I came home, and a tube from Villanova Universtiy was waiting by our mailbox.  It was as if somehow I was being reminded that, even in the midst of dark chaos, sometimes good things happen

I had opted out of actually participating in the commencement activities at Villanova.  Despite the urgings of my wife and youngest daughter, I just didn't want to go through all the ceremony, etc.  More than anything else, I was just glad that school was over with and I could spend more time doing the things I enjoy.  "Studying HR stuff" is not one of the things I enjoy.  At age 54, I think I've earned the right to be less encumbered.

I will note that, after actually receiving my degree, I am left wondering "why" and "what's next".  I didn't start my graduate degree with the notion that it would directly benefit that which I laughingly call my career.  No, I think it was more about trying to prove to myself that I was smart enough to do it.  Yes, I do have doubts in that regard from time to time.  Now I have a piece of paper, waiting to be framed, that says those doubt might be wrong.  Sometimes.

Speaking of my piece of paper, I've managed to convince my wife that we should get both of our Master's degrees framed.  Her degree was successfully salvaged from another location last year in a clandestine operation that could be described as "Mission Impossible meets Hoarders".  My wife, being the truly smart person she is, earned her MBA from Wilkes University shortly after earning her Bachelor's degree.  Now I just have to drag her to the framing store and find a place to hang these wonderful documents.

Call it God or call it karma or call it random change.  Whatever it is, sometimes life as a knack for reminding us to keep things in perspective.

For Mom

There were only a few things in life that ever actually impressed my late mother.  Stripping out people for a moment (Martha Stewart, for example, could do no wrong...even with the felony conviction), she was impressed by folks who were well educated.  While my Mom never really said so to either of us, I know she was proud of her two sons who earned college degrees.

(My Mom & the Blogger, first graduation in May 1986)

Before she passed away, I had told my Mom that I had been toying around with the idea of going back to school.  Her response was usually something along the gruff lines of "well, what's stopping you?".  In my life up to about eight or so years ago, well, a lot of things were stopping me.  These were things like time, energy, money, etc.  All valid reasons.  About a year after her passing I made the leap.  No more excuses.  It was time to either go back to school or shelve the idea entirely.  I made the former decision, and in September of 2014, I attended my first class in the Villanova University M.S.-HRD degree program*.   For the official record, my anxiety level for that first class was a 12 (on a scale of 1 to 10).

Fast forward through 30 graduate credits, countless tests, a large novel's worth of papers, stacks of research and I completed my actual coursework in May 2017.  Graduation had to wait though until I completed the final program requirement, namely passing an industry examination.  Something I managed to put off for a year. 

The above procrastination ended today with my passing of just such an exam.  More on that later, once I get my official results.  I'll note that I put in between 30 and 40 hours, give or take, in actual exam preparation.  I'll also note that the test was one of the most difficult I've ever had to take, and that list includes three securities examinations and one for a Pennsylvania insurance license.  Put another way, if you think "HR stuff" is easy, well, I'll lend you my study materials.

How do I feel about all of this?  At this stage, I'd say numb.  The whole going back to school thing was an enormous undertaking for me, both in terms of cost (even with tuition assistance from my prior employer) and sheer effort.  While I enjoy writing (obviously...), I didn't enjoy the pressures of research work, final exams, etc.  The on-going theme in my head was one of "I'm too damn old for this".  Quite frankly, I'm just glad this is over.  And it is all over, as my academic career has just concluded.  It's time for me to move on.

Moving on is a big part of what's going to happen next.  In life, we all meet points in time when we know things are going to change.  For me, this is one of those times.  A kind of nexus if you will where things converge and then move off into new a direction.  That new direction for me is going to involve more rest, more outdoors, more, well, "fun".

I couldn't have done this, by the way, without a cast of supporting folks who either put up with me, coached me, or, unknowing to them, motivated me in some way or another.  Chief among the members of my posse is my wife, Ms. Rivers, who has spent more time that she should have cleaning up after dinner so that I could get to school work.  She also deserves a medal for all of the incredibly dry papers she has had to read and edit for me over the past few years.  I also need to thank my many co-workers, across two wonderful organizations, who have encouraged me along the way.  They know who they are, but in case they forget, I'll be reaching out.

Finally, while she isn't here to see this, I know my Mom would be proud of me on this day.  As I was thinking about the exam over the past few days, and the fact that it was the last thing I needed to graduate, I knew that she was there with me in spirit. 

I did it Mom!


* * * * * *

(*) You can learn more about Villanova's graduate HRD program HERE.

Mrs Golden, Librarian

Back in the 70's, I attended James Madison Elementary School in Scranton.  I don't remember many of my teachers from way back then, but I do remember Mrs. Golden.  She was the librarian of the school, and she happened to notice that young Steve kept reading the same old book over and over again.  The book, by the way, was about space exploration.

Fast forward a few years and James Madison Elementary School was turning into East Scranton Intermediate School.  It seems that the much older intermediate school kids apparently didn't have much need for old books about space exploration, so the library was being prepared for "bigger kid" customers.  Just as the school year...the last for James Madison Elementary School...was about to end, I was called down to the library by Mrs. Golden.  She presented me with that old book about space exploration.  My love affair with books has continued ever since.

(My home office...just a few of my many books)

 
I mention this story because the Scranton School Board, in its infinite wisdom, believes that librarians aren't important.  I beg to differ.  I've written about the incredible ineptitude of the Scranton School Board before, so there's no sense repeating myself.  What I will offer is this:  The notion that every discretionary thing that could be cut from the Scranton School District's budget BEFORE coming to this point where librarians are let go is falsehood of epic proportions.  Simply put, they went after librarians because, among other things, they lack the foresight and guts to make significant cuts in sports programs (which, unlike the library, only serve a very small portion of students) and other things, such as a bloated administrative payroll.

I'll leave you something my daughter Katrina wrote and posted on Facebook.  #ProudDad

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” -Ray Bradbury

When a school district decides that funding sports programs, inflated salaries for upper administration, and hiring friends for kick-backs takes precedence over libraries and fostering a love of reading, there is something incredibly wrong.

As a teacher, I am terrified that a district could and would make a decision that is so detrimental to all parties involved.

As a former resident of Scranton, I am ashamed that my city would allow for this to happen. I know Scranton is not perfect, but I always thought (or hoped) that in the end, my home would have the integrity and decency to do the right thing.

As a product of the Scranton School District, I am saddened that thousands of students will not be given the basic educational opportunities that, in the United States of America, should be a damn RIGHT.

And finally, as the daughter of a school librarian in the Scranton School District, I am absolutely heartbroken.

I have witnessed my mother dedicate her life to the students of the SSD. She has given of herself tirelessly and selflessly in the form of time, money, resources, passion, and love. Hell, I grew up believing that it was normal for teachers to purchase Halloween costumes for the students whose parents couldn’t afford them because that’s just the kind of person my mother is. As a librarian she has increased her school’s collection of books so that students of all abilities and interests can love reading. She has single-handedly executed fundraisers to get new books. She’s worked with classes to create their own stories and then had them bound into hardcover books for each student. She’s created a school newspaper so students can experience the thrill the importance of reading and writing. My mother has brought in guest speakers, hosted a summer program so students could acquire books over the break, and created reading incentives that fostered a love of reading in hundreds of students.

If you think that I am passionate about teaching and my students, please understand that I am only a fraction of the educator that my mother is and know my desire to help students is fueled by the impact I have seen my mother have on everyone she has ever taught.

As a middle schooler, I watched my mother fight for years to acquire a permanent position within the SSD due to the corrupt hiring practices where friends and family are given preference over the most qualified educators. Now, after 16.75 years of full-time employment with the district, and 3.25 years from retirement, my mother received notice that her position as school librarian is being eliminated.

To say that the Scranton School District is making a horrible mistake is an understatement. The fact that the district ended up in this situation is negligence at best— but the decision to solve a budget crisis in this way is criminal.

Ultimately, the amazing educators who are being laid off will persevere. However, it is the students of the City of Scranton who will be damaged most by this decision. These students are the individuals who will grow up to decide the future of the city, our nation, and our world, but the Scranton School Board has decided that our students are not worth the investment. The school board has decided that maintaining the status quo of corrupt politics is more important than providing the youth of Scranton with a well-rounded education.

Landfill Expansion and an Imploding School District

What does the construction of a mountain made of New Jersey trash and the pending financial collapse of a school district have in common?

I was pondering the above while commenting on two articles in the Sunday edition of the Scranton Times-Tribune and this is what came to me:  Bread and Circuses(1).  

NEPA is the ultimate land of "Bread and Circuses". People will gladly be disinterested in what will harm their children (and their children's children)(2) just as long as they can get beer at the local quickie mart, nothing interferes with the local high school football game on Friday night, and they have politicians & well-off business people to admire (and name things after).

We see it all around us...you don't need to look too far to see the lunar landscapes of culm banks that can be found all over NEPA.  And in the countless buildings and things named for politicians and those wealthy few who greased politicians for years in exchange for favors that served narrow economic interests.  That's okay though because those in power figured out generations ago that the residents of NEPA can be bought on the cheap.  Just dangle the prospect of some trickle down power, money or influence and just about anything in the area can be overlooked.  

In the department of things overlooked, the Scranton School District (SSD) has been slowly sliding into receivership for years now, all while those who actually voted in the city continued to elect under or non-qualified leaders.  Now that the warning signs of impending doom have nearly made sports score sized fonts in the local newspaper, the leaders of the SSD are considering a few drastic steps, such as the elimination of some under-utilized educational programs.  To the best of my knowledge though, there have been no public discussions about tackling the costs of sports programs.  Pun intended.  Why?  See above: Bread and Circuses.

Speaking of high school sports in general and football in particular, let me clear up two misconceptions about that seem to abound when it comes to the local "gridiron":

(1) High school football does not pay for itself.  In fact, that's a fiscal impossibility.  Game attendance couldn't even cover the cost of maintaining the stadium any school plays in, let alone the costs of insurance, transportation, equipment, manpower, etc.

(2) Very, very few high school football players actually get college scholarships.  How few?  According to THIS ARTICLE, about 2%.  So much for "but football is needed because it's the only way some kids can afford to go to college".  

I have nothing against high school sports as long as they don't impede the actual reason for high schools to exist in the first place, namely the education of every student.

Finally, generations of NEPA residents have down-right admired the powerful and the connected.  It's almost Stockholm Syndrome worthy if you ask me.  I wonder what the local economy would be like if local politicians and other civic interests were as supportive of every private business as they are of those run, for example, by the landfill family?  The economy would be booming, as opposed to perpetually sitting at the bottom of Pennsylvania.  Thank god for Altoona.  I have nothing against that particular family, by the way; I just wish they weren't trying to build a mountain of out-of-state trash.  Yet there are supporters of the landfill expansion.  That particular family has done a lot for the region, don't you know.  

Maybe, just maybe, things might be changing.  Maybe a younger generation will see beyond the parochial interests of immediate gratification and understand that some things come at too high of a cost.  Maybe a few brave souls will step up at the Scranton School Board and make truly difficult...and no doubt unpopular...choices to reduce the costs of non-educational activities.  Maybe I'm dreaming, but hey, there's always hope.

(1) If you're unfamiliar with the concept of "bread and circuses", well, read HERE.

(2) Even worse that culm banks, the proposed mountain of trash will exist forever.  

These Are Days

Friday, April 28th

By the numbers:

160 hours of classroom instruction

About 3500 textbook pages read

About 560 hours spent studying & researching

About 175 hours spent writing papers

About 20 hours spent on group projects

Yes, the education part of my graduate degree is finished.  My only remaining requirement for graduation is to pass an industry examination, which I'll do in the Fall.  

Relieved?  Not sure, mostly at the moment I am rather numb.  My final act as a graduate student was a final exam for an HR Metrics and Statistical Research class.  It was probably the most difficult exam I've taken in the program, and I think I probably did a bit better than average.  Heck, basically I would take just about any grade at this point, as I'm pretty darn spent.

Looking back, well, it's been a long road.  See above.  I'm not sure I would do it all over again, and I know for a fact that my formal college education is now over with, as I simply don't have this kind of effort left in me.  It feels rather like I've taken a turn, and now I need to focus on some other things.

If there is one regret in all of this, well, it would be that I wish my Mom would have been alive to see this day come.  As I've noted in prior postings, my mother was a tough human being, and while expressing (positive) emotions was not her forte, I knew for a fact that she was proud when two of her sons graduated from college.  She was, without a doubt, the best-educated person I've ever met who didn't have a college degree.  When she was alive I had talked to her about going back to school, and her comment was always "well, what's stopping you?", usually though including a foul word or two in the mix, just for emphasis.

(1986:  My Penn State undergraduate degree graduation)

I Did It Mom!

Very few things in life are achieved without the help of others, and that's especially true of this particular milestone.  

First and foremost on my list of people to thank is my wife, who has been just incredibly supportive of my continuing education, going back to when I first started seriously thinking about it in 2012.  She has also been my fearless editor, literally reading hundreds of pages of academic stuff I've produced over the years.  

Secondly, thank you to all those who have offered words of encouragement and support, including co-workers (at two different employers), many of my managers who took an interest in my professional development, and my daughters who were always encouraging me, even when I felt like a complete looser as I struggled to master APA. formatting.  All have given me mental booster shots that always seemed to come at precisely the right time.

Finally, thank you to my classmates and instructors in the Villanova University Graduate HRD program.  Formal learning aside, just the experience of meeting and working with so many talented and diverse fellow Human Resources professionals has enriched me significantly.  The degree itself is just an added bonus.

* * * * * *

Sunday, April 30th

Rubber band.

Yesterday and today have been what I'll call the "rubber band" days, namely that time when, after you achieve something important, you have this kind of spent, empty, vacant feeling.  I have had these from time to time in my life.  This is, by the way, a great testimony to how my mind was programmed to work for so many years.  I'm using the past tense in that last sentence, more so out of hope that I'm slowly but surely evolving to a better state, likely reaching a point where I can genuinely celebrate a success, probably a year or so before I leave this life (which hopefully won't be for a very long time to come).

Anyway, part of the rubber band feeling, I'm sure, stems from a kind in incessant wanderlust to aways be doing something important.  That's all the more remarkable given the fact that I have a mental list many rows long of the things I promised myself I'd do once I was finished with school.  You would think I would feel some sense of satisfaction knowing that I can begin to tackle that list, but alas, the feeling escapes me.

Speaking of motivation, in my rubber band state, I was thinking about why I did this...why I decided to go back to school at age 50...in the first place.  The unscientific results of that pondering are noted below.

Yes, guilt is something of a major driver in many things I do.  Catholic guilt (and the very closely related Jewish guilt) is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, right up there with gravity and overly caffeinated beverages.  In this case, it would be the guilt over not completing the degree, as it would let down one or two people who really encouraged me to pursue it in the first place (along with a few other choice-but-rotten chestnuts).  At the end of the day, I suspect that guilt, like caffeinated beverages, can be a force for good or bad, depending on the frequency and amounts in question.

So there you have it, an academic milestone achieved, and a special kind of empty feeling, all in the span of two and a half days.

In the end, it will get better.  It always does.  The screed above is really part of my tried and true method for getting out of mental funks, namely proclaiming my weaknesses to the entirely of the Internet, mostly in the hope that I will then feel guilted into getting over myself.  It is all so wonderfully circular.  

3 Things We Should Be Teaching In School (Right Now)...

...but we are not doing, nearly enough.

Mindfulness
I spent almost my entire school career, kindergarten through 12th grade, mostly either worried about the past or the future.  No one, and I really do mean no one, taught me the value of living in...and focusing on...the present moment.  Having spent a significant amount of time actually reading about and studying this topic now for a few years as an adult, I can only imagine how I would have benefitted from learning this lesson as a young adult.  The lesson itself isn't difficult, but it's having the guidance to help in practicing it that makes all the difference.

How much better prepared academically would students be if they had the tools to actually be present, both physically and mentally, when lessons are taught?  What if instead of students be afraid of an upcoming test they could focus on mastering the material in the moment?  I think the possibilities are many.

Perspective on Competition
This is America, where we talk about "winning".  Want to know why I almost never play games?  Even board games?  Because I don't like competition.  I've found, from my childhood onward, that when I'm placed in competitive situations, my natural reaction is to obsess on winning, to the exclusion of everything else.  However, in the real world, especially when it comes to personal relationships and business, most of the time you can win without someone else losing.  That lesson though wasn't taught to me in school.  Instead I was brought up on an institutional diet that compared me to other students in a mindless kind of competitive sport.

Where this shows up mostly is in the area of conflict.

You see the by-product of this today in political campaigns, which are just about at the pinnacle of senseless competition:  "My candidate needs to win, and yours needs to lose; it doesn't matter if my candidate says some pretty stupid soundbite-esque nonsense...I just want (him or her) to WIN!".  When winning is everything we all end up losing, because life isn't a game.  Life isn't about the finish line, goal line, home plate or anything else of the sort.  Life isn't about me "beating" you.  Life is, to extend the sports talk, mostly about learning to enjoy the game.  We need to teach children that competition has a place in this world, but the world itself is not simply a big competition.  Yes, play games for the enjoyment, but extending a game philosophy to life in general, as we tend to do in the United States today, is disastrous.

Emotional Intelligence
As someone who teaches adults about Emotional Intelligence (EI), I can not express in words just how positively this can impact someone's life.  Having an awareness of one's own emotional state in real time, being able to consciously regulation your reactions, being able to recognize emotions in others and having the skills to build/manage relationships is truly life changing stuff.  I know that many good teachers help their students with these skills (either directly or indirectly), but I really do think this needs to done more overtly in our educational system.  Don't just take my word for it, as noted author Dan Goleman writes extensively about the topic in his book Emotional Intelligence:  Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Goleman has written several books on the topic of EI, and while this isn't the "go to" book for business people, it's my favorite in part because he does talk about EI and children.  I think one of the reasons why we don't teach this in school is because it doesn't fit into a paradigm of grades and competition.  All too often we don't challenge people to look inside, as opposed to outside, for answers because that inner awareness is simply too difficult to master and to measure.

Should A College Education Be Free? I Vote "No".

I read a lot about the current student loan crisis, and hear many cries that a college education should be free.  I completely disagree.

Nothing of value is really free.

Not even the giving of our own time is actually "free", as it costs us, well, our time.  My fine Penn State education taught me that such a thing has an "opportunity cost".

Love isn't "free" either by the way, as it requires work...sometimes hard work...and sacrifice.  Sound familiar?

Education truly has value, and because of that it's worth paying for, it's worth sacrificing for, it's worth the investment.  Students, as in the folks who actually go to school, should be fully invested in their education.  This means they should be investing their minds and their wallets.  They should have "skin in the game", if you will, over and above simply blowing their parents money and generating profit margin for a student loan lender.

The moment you make a college education free you devalue it.  It becomes something that some feel entitled to, not because they worked for it, but because it should simply be theirs.  Do we really want to cheapen the value of higher education?

Now should an education cost the equivalent of a nice home in rural Pennsylvania?  I don't believe that it should.  The cost of an education should be something that requires sacrifice of the part of the student (and to a lessor extent their parents), but not 20 years of a financial indentured servitude to a student loan lender.  In the end, there needs to be a better balance in how we fund education, but it truly must be a "balance".  Simply saying "college should be free" diminishes the value of education, just as "20 years of crushing debt"  diminishes the prospects of some to actually obtain an education.  In order to change that balance though, I think some structural changes need to be made in American higher education.

Structural changes?  Well we need to re-focus just what higher education means in the United States.  What does, for example, having a feeder system for professional sports have to do with education?  College athletics started out as clubs of students playing games with students from other colleges, not about the development of big-league proto-professional athletes.  Time to break that cycle and get schools out of the sports business, as it's an expensive diversion.  Another cycle that must be broken is the notion of life time instructor tenure.  I'm sorry, but everyone should have to prove the value of their employment over and above simply the avoidance of getting fired in the past.  Finally, while I am as free-market as they come, I firmly disagree with the concept of "for profit" education.  Providing a college education is a service to humanity; it shouldn't be a service to investors.

I'm not pretending that simply getting rid of sports and tenure will make a college education affordable, but I am claiming that the basics of higher education need to change, from operations through how costs are passed along to students.  Our current system is simply unsustainable.  Society should encourage and share in these costs, but so too should the actual students who benefit from that education.

We're angry, we're pissed off and we're going to continue to take it

My Facebook compatriot Mike Sporer brought a story my attention and suggested that it would make a good blog posting.  Now normally I don't take requests, as this whole blog deal has to really be stuff that I find interesting (which is why I've managed to keep at it since last 2008), but this was just too good an opportunity to pass off.  Anyway, here's the graphic:

Yes, it appears that our metropolitan area is among the least happy in the United States.  I don't think that Mike was surprised by this, and I certainly wasn't.  If anything, I am surprised that Erie, PA scored worse.

Anyway, the big question is this:  Why?  Why are we so unhappy?  Well I've probably mentioned a while host of things in this blog before, but this is as good an idea as any to maybe do a consolidation of misery, if you will.


Why the residents of Northeaster Pennsylvania are so Unhappy

• We are physically unhealthy.  According to many, many different sources, there is a direct link between physical well-being and mental health/attitude.  Here's just one.  It also creates a higher propensity for higher rates of disease.  Here's a graphic showing breast cancer rates by Pennsylvania county.  
                                                              The source of the graphic is http://www.rural.palegislature.us .  It's not a pleasant picture to see.  We are also a literal hotbed for heart disease; here's what the CDC tells us about heart disease rates, historically, by US county.  
                                                                 See that dark red patch where Lackawanna and Luzerne counties are located?  Kinda sticks out, just a bit.  We also smoke more than others, and we are likely exposed to more industrial pollution, courtesy of mining past, than others.  All in all, it's a heck of a recipe for disaster.
• Corruption, corruption, corruption and more corruption.  Here are just a few names:  Dan Flood, Joe McDade, several county commissioners from both Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, two "kids for cash" judges...and the list goes on.  Want to see how this all plays out?  Well check out this excerpt from the end of the book The Quiet Don that says a lot (page 290):  "Like Bufalino before him, Louis DeNaples relied on the support of a bevy of friendly, local and state federal elected officials in his bid for a slots license.  Time and time again, people outside of Pennsylvania shook their heads in disbelief, each time questioning some new disturbing revelation asking how or why something like that could happen.  How could the courts look the other way?  Where is law enforcement?"
• Graft is institutionalized.  We have a sitting school board president in Scranton who can actually vote for his own family income to increase, as his wife is a teacher (in the Scranton School District).  This is the same director who presided over a national search for new school superintendent where the final candidate just happened to be a relative.  Yes, only in Scranton political logic does a national search yield a relative for a position.  So why is it so institutionalized?  Well I have a theory:  We tolerate it because we think, at some level, that if we look the way for someone else, they in turn will look the other way for us.  Put another way, we have this pattern of tolerating bad behavior because we secretly hope to benefit from it ourselves.
• We rely too much on the government for things like employment.  The largest employer in the area is the government.  This means, in part, that it's not knowledge, education and ambition that is perceived as being the keys to success in NEPA; no, rather it's finding some public sector job, usually via some kind of connection, that is high on security but low on expectations.  Don't believe me?  Well go to a post office one of these days and ask an employee behind the counter a difficult question.  Or ask my older brother, who is trying to get my younger, disabled brother some government services, only to be told that the initial application we filed is, and I quote, "not in the system" (translation:  "I don't give a s#it").
• We likely over-pay for inefficient and ineffective government services.  Here's an interesting graphic that shows who pays the most by way of Pennsylvania's personal income tax.
                                                              The graphic is from the Commonwealth Foundation. It's probably not a secret that government is our neck of the woods is particularly ineffective, yet we tend to be among those paying the most for it.  Overlay oppressively high wage taxation in Scranton and it begins to create an interesting picture (of despair).

Perhaps the real reason?  I could go on with some of the more factual stuff, but the point is made.  There is, however, one other point I want to make though:  Mostly, I suspect that we are miserable because we make the choice to be miserable.  More like "choices" actually.  Many of us were raised by miserable parents, so learning about finding the simple joys in life were taught about as often as Mongolian language courses were/are in our high schools. I know that's true for me, and I suspect that's true for others as well.  In fact, much of what I've noted above is a direct result of our choices to be miserable.  For example, we are miserable, which breeds cynicism, which basically opens the door for all manner of political corruption.  It's all a horribly vicious cycle, that, I hope, one day will break.  The good news though is that there is hope:  I can, for example, point to the good work being done by Friends of Lackwanna as being indicative of a change in the business as usual mode of things getting done in NEPA.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the late Warren Zevon.

15 Big Wishes for 2014

In no particular order, for no particular reason.

1. Free Speech.  That people will stop confusing a right to free speech with a right to employment.  The constitution guarantees one, not the other.  This applies equally to mock hillbillies and MSNBC commentators.
2. Budgets.  That governments will learn to live within their means.  This entails not spending more than they take in.  This means not borrowing money to cover payroll.
3. Schools.  That schools will focus on academic education, which should be their core, central mission.  Sports have a place in our society, but not when they take resources away from education.  In an era of tight budgets, too many school districts have outdated text books but boy, they do have nice football uniforms.  Many (especially in NEPA) are oblivious to the concept of "bread and circuses".
4. Politicians.  That politicians will decide to devote more time to listening to constituents and less time being greased by lobbyists and campaign donors.  If you believe that free speech = campaign contributions, then you also accept the notion that some folks (those who give the most) have a right to more speech than others.  Anyone care to argue that point?
5. Talk Radio.  That national political talk radio slowly withers away and dies.  Too many people confuse a radio "act" for a "reality".  For the record I do like local talk radio, even when I disagree with the slant of the particular host.  Giving local folks a chance to voice opinions is a positive thing.
6. Congress.  That Congress does its job.  Period.  Pointing fingers at people you disagree with and saying (figuratively) "You Suck!" helps no one, improves nothing and simply justifies the 9% approval rating that Congress currently enjoys.
7. Local Media.  That local media will devote more time and energy to examining why NEPA has chronically had the highest unemployment rate in Pennsylvania.  There are reasons for this, but yet no one is really talking loudly enough about them, let alone doing something about it.  That's cause for alarm.  Media can help change that, if they want to.  
8. North Korea.  That someone does something about the Hermit Kingdom.  It is a pox on humanity that this place even exists.  The bloated, obese leader lording of a country full of emaciated people who look like Walking Dead extras is just wrong on so many levels.
9. Religious Leaders.  That they have less authority in secular society.  All societies.  All religions.  It seems to me that religion has a place in forming the conscience, but once it gets into the public policy realm it almost always ends up badly.  Think Iran now and countless other examples throughout history.
10. Parents.  That parents spend more time reading to their children.  Growing up I loved it when my mother would read to us.  This a gift that costs almost nothing but continues to give for decades.
11. The Pennsylvania Legislature.  That the Legislature does two things:  Get the State the heck out of the retail liquor business (a state government shouldn't be in any retail business, period) and gets smaller.  Government in Pennsylvania is too big and it spends too much money.
12. President Obama.  That he tells the truth, all the time.   I get it, most Presidents are flexible with the truth, but I think Mr Obama has taken the concept a bit too far with the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act.
13. Heroes.  That we, as a society, stop labeling people as heroes simply because of their job.  To really be a hero, you need to do something heroic; it's never part of a job description.  Simply being an athlete...or a firefighter...or a policeman...or a solider...doesn't automatically make you a hero.  When we label entire vocations heroes we greatly diminish the definition of the very word and those who have been heroic in the past.
14. Financial Services Industry.  That the industry focuses on customers and the greater good that helping people achieve long term goals provides to society.  This would be instead of simply chasing a constantly higher ROE.  The business of business is business, but businesses also exists in a larger society, to which they are also accountable.
15. _________ Special Interest Group.  That they all grow thicker skins.  This includes the NRA (of which I am not a member), the Human Rights Campaign (of which I am a member) and countless others.  There are too many people finding offense in too many areas all too often.  Life is too short to be constantly listening for someone to offend your group/tribe/sensibilities/religion/sexuality/region/point of view.  When you actively shop for offense, you will always guaranteed to find it.  Who needs more of that?

Scranton School Board Vacancy

"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."
- Will Rogers 


And so it goes, after the Scranton School District last night filled a vacancy:

...that was created by the quasi-mysterious departure of a sitting board member
...via a process that gave interested candidates 48 hours to submit their interest
...where a decision was made in the course of about 2 hours after the letters of interest were received
...and which didn't really involve any interviewing

You can read all about it HERE.

How would I describe this process?

Hmmmmm

Oh, how about this?  Insane.  Yes, that's it.  Insane.

The last vacancy I had at work took approximately 4 months to fill, but hey, I know that far greater care and effort needs to go into hiring a corporate trainer than it does deciding how will make policy regarding the education of the nation's most precious assets.  Hell, we actually interviewed people!  What's more, the person we hired wasn't an insider, wasn't someone who gave favors to anyone else, wasn't someone with high name recognition.  Yes, silly us in the private sector:  we took our time and hired someone who had the best qualifications for the job.

Let me be even more blunt that I've already been so far:  the Scranton School Board stinks of corruption, back-room deals, and politics for the sake of personal enrichment.  It's primary focus seems to be on granting power to board members and protecting employees, not the education of our region's most precious assets.

In the midst of all this mess, there is one bright spot;  Director Kathleen McGuigan seems to have finally had enough.  Usually a voice of reason for the board, Mrs McGuigan now seems intent on waging a legal battle against its latest actions.  I wish her well.  If recent events at the local Intermediate Unit tell us anything, it's that bad things happen when good people keep their mouths shut.  

Good hunting Mrs McGuigan.

Fiscal Crisis? Not in the Scranton School District!

Yes, apparently all the state budget cuts haven't hit the Scranton School District.  Everything is fine.  There is extra money just laying around.

How do I know the above is true?  Well among a few other things, I saw this little ditty in the Tuesday edition of the Scranton Times:

"The cost for the West Scranton Intermediate School gymnasium floor project will now be at least $168,437 more, with directors voting to install a hardwood floor instead of a synthetic floor.  The project, now at more than $1.1 million, includes major underground work for stabilization."

Now in fairness, I've played basketball on both hardwood and synthetic floors, and without doubt the hardwood floor is better.  Oh, and if money were no obstacle, the cost difference wouldn't matter.  But money is an obstacle here.  A big obstacle, as a matter of fact.  In fact it's a $168,437 obstacle.

Don't let the enormous size of building projects and school districts budgets fool you:  every amount counts when you are actually in a fiscal crisis.  School district budgets are like home budgets in that regard; if you are barely paying your bills you don't add luxuries.  But then again the Directors of the Scranton School District apparently don't think that there is a crisis.  My point in all of this cynicism is that the district shouldn't be spending any extra money on projects, let alone increasing the cost of a project by over 10% for reasons that quite frankly escape me.

Maybe a hardwood floor will cost less in the long run. I suspect though that, given the district's history of poor strategic facilities planning, this has more to do with personal preferences and an over-emphasis on athletics than anything else.

For the record, if there is an absolute, burning need to spend $168,000, I can think of a few better options:

• 3360 more textbooks could be purchased (at an assumed cost of $50/book)
• 1411 Kindle e-readers could be purchased (at an average cost of $119/reader)
• 168 laptops could be purchased (at an assumed cost of $999/machine)

Apparently though athletic preference is more important than textbooks or other tools that can be used to teach students.

Higher Ed doesn't mean higher salaries

It's a neat trick when an institution of higher education:

1. Has the lowest paid faculty in the United States
2. Doesn't have the lowest tuition, even in just Northeastern Pennsylvania

You can read the story here:

Lackawanna College faculty, lowest paid in the United States, seek contract

This situation is brought to you by the same people who insist on naming a theater after a convict who used our tax money for renovations at a private college.

It does beg the question:  where does the money go?

My top 10 wishes for NEPA in 2013

In no particular order and for no particular reason, and with no hope for most of them to actually happen anyway.

1. Graft - That in the absence of pressure from the electorate, federal authorities continue to squeeze the elected elite in NEPA.  It's rather sad when you look at the number of "not so secretly" corrupt politicians in NEPA who continued to be re-elected year after year, only to fall to federal investigations and indictments.
2. Electorate - See #1.  That the electorate in NEPA starts to think about qualifications and results when it comes to selecting individuals for public service...as opposed to bizarre notions about what little coal patch someone grew up in, the ethnicity of a candidate or the idea that they may "scratch your back" if "you scratch theirs".
3. Consolidation of Services - That we end small governments.  Please, someone do explain to me the cultural, political and economic rationale behind the separate governments in West Pittston, Exeter, Wyoming, West Wyoming, Forty Fort and the like?  As I drive through these towns (and many like them) it's insane to think that each little town duplicates services over and over and over again.  Of course we don't need to be naive about this:  the reason behind the duplicity is that it allows for the creation of multiple little kingdoms, complete with multiple little kings.  Time for that to end.  Towns can keep their names, if that makes some folks happy, but there's no reason for services to be duplicated across imaginary borders.
4. Economy - That NEPA slowly be weened off public sector employment.  I'm convinced that a part of our economic troubles in the area has been an over-reliance of the government for employment.  Coming with that is the still lingering perception among many that the best jobs in NEPA are those that are funded with taxpayer dollars.  They aren't.  Period.  Local chambers of commerce and elected officials need to do more to encourage a vigorous private sector.  Militias are marshalled and politicians rushed into action at the mere thought of a threat to "Da Depot", yet we don't see nearly the same effort and sense of urgency when it comes to private sector employment concerns.
5. Scranton - That banks will stop lending to the city, that revenues will continue to fall short of expenses and that city leaders will finally wake the Hell up.  If you are spending too much money, the first part of the solution is to stop spending more money.  The city can not and will not borrow its way into solvency.  Period.  As I have said repeatedly, Scranton already is bankrupt...it's just we need to make it legal.
6. Lackwanna College - That the school reconsiders the naming of the Mellow Theater.  See #1 & #2.  This is a powerful reminder of the chummy relationships that existed between power-brokers in NEPA and how the electorate in NEPA consistently turned a blind eye when faced with rampant corruption.  Bob Mellow was a thief while in office, so why is he being rewarded with this honor?
7. Susquehanna River - That NEPA pays attention it it's greatest natural resource.  I can think of few more under-utilized natural treasures in NEPA.  We have a major river flowing through our area and yet we do very few things with and for it.  Maybe this comes from back in coal mining days when the river was viewed as little more than a glorified toilet and industrial waste highway.  Anyway, how about every town that sits along the river simply commit to keeping their shoreline clean and debris free in 2013?  It would be a start.
8. Blogging - That all the good work undertaken by the likes of the NEPA BlogCon squirrel ladies and NEPA Blogs continue. Encouraging the open expression of ideas is an important element of a vibrant society, and I am firmly convinced that the Internet is a powerfully enabling tool in this arena.
9. Media - That the professional local media outlets, be they print, radio, television or Internet, make the challenging of assumptions a priority in 2013.  I get it, WNEP (for example) has to cover every little local fire, and they have to interview, on camera, the witness who has the poorest grasp of the English language and the worst teeth.   Fine, we can all accept that as a cost of doing business.  But how about more investigative reporting on corruption?  How about some in-depth reporting on why the Scrantoon/Wilke-Boro/Hazelnut MSA has consistently had the highest unemployment in Pennsylvania?
10. Tolerance - That the residents of NEPA be just a bit more tolerant in 2013.  People who are atheists are not immoral.  People who support the right of a woman to have an abortion are not baby-killers.  Gay folks are simply folks...who may behave differently in the privacy of their own homes than others do.  We don't all have to agree on every nuance of life, but we should all agree that someone else's difference is not a threat to our existence.  We need to stop demonizing, through our words and deeds, those who may not act like the majority.  

Road Apples, #131

Voter ID...Pennsylvania's poorly conceived and politically motivated voter ID law will not be enforced for the November general election.  As I have said several times, this is a solution in search of a problem.  The law should be repealed and the issue studied.  Where there is a history voter fraud perhaps a photo Id should be required.  Note, however, the sequence:  "Problem Identified" then "Legislation enacted".  If you can't identify and quantify the problem, then don't pass a law to fix it.  Simple.

Tom "Frank Drebin" Corbett...can't be a happy guy now.  Even my uber-conservative brother thinks the guy is going a poor job of governing Pennsylvania.  One get's the distinct impression that the governor either...

...doesn't realize how his policies come across to the majority of Pennsylvania residents

or

...doesn't care how his policies come across to the majority of Pennsylvania residents

Either alternative is far from ideal.  Whether it's corporate welfare (Shell made nearly 6 billion dollars in profit this year...during the months of April to June alone...and they need a kickback from US????), playing pass the buck with education funding (lower state funding and the difference is simply made up by local taxes) or the politically motivated voter ID law, clearly this guy has some mixed up priorities.  If this were any other state I'd say that his chances of getting re-elected were slim to none, but then again this is Pennsylvania.  We must maintain our "8 years of a Republican followed by 8 years of a Democrat followed by 8 years of a Republican..." pattern, no matter what.

Debating the Debate...I'm not sure I'm going to watch tonight's "sound-byte fest", also known as the Presidential debates.  Most people don't understand that the commission that sets these debates is basically a conglomeration of both Republican and Democratic political hacks who carefully orchestrate an event that excludes BOTH alternative candidates (such as Gary Johnson) and deeper discussions about the issues that matter.  No, these debates are more a beauty contest than anything else, save for the occasional major gaff that could in fact turn an election.

Mold in Scranton Schools...Much as been reported about mold in one of Scranton's public elementary schools.  Conventional wisdom and basic science teaches us that mold is the result of prolonged exposure to moisture.  But this is only partially true on Scranton.  In my (current) city, mold has a third cause:  gross incompetence.  It's no secret that the Scranton School District (like many in the NEPA) has been run at least partially like an employment agency for the connected.  One needs only look at the Scranton School District's off-again, on-again, and off-again anti-nepotism policy for validation.  One other bellwether:  in a business that employs, say, 1,000 people, how many (or what percentage of the workforce) ends up getting terminated for poor performance?  Say about 2-3% per year?  Now let's ask the same question about the Scranton School District.  I'm thinking that, over the last 5 years, virtually no one in the district has been terminated for cause.  That must mean that everyone is doing an outstanding job, right?  I know a moldy school on Prescott avenue that seems to provide evidence to the contrary.

Bottom line:  The Scranton School District has been poorly managed (word "managed" used intentionally, as opposed to "leadership") for decades.  There will be no accountability for this latest moldy school, just as there was no accountability for the last moldy school.

Speaking of the Scranton School District...I was honored to stop by Tom Borthwick's "Borthday" party and campaign kick-off last Friday.  I'm not going to claim that Tom will the savior of the district, if elected, but I will say that he is genuinely passionate about education.  I can't say the same thing about most (if not all) of the current board directors.  The Scranton School District needs less of the politically connected crowd making decisions, period.

Cars...Thanks to the crew at Jack Williams Tire & Auto in Moosic for selling me some great new tires for the Kia Rio.  I had bought tires at a competitor about a year or so ago and they were already failing.  I was very happy with the experience.  In other car news, Ms Rivers and I will be looking at cars this coming Saturday.  An initial, serious shopping expedition, if you will.  I'm thinking either the Nissan dealership in Wilkes-Boro (I love driving Nissan's when I get them as rentals, and the Rogue is the about the size I am looking for) or the Suzuki dealership in Pittston.  Could I possibly stretch this whole process out any longer?