Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Best Tacoma School Staff Member?

Tacoma Weekly put out its Best of Tacoma 2011 guide.  Readers cast votes for the various best categories, and on p. 5 they note that Karen Vialle is the best School District Staff Member.  This is both confusing and vexing.  Presumably, if Vialle wins the election (as she almost certainly will) in November, she will no longer be able to serve as a substitute teacher.  Full-time teachers and staff members cannot serve as staffers and board members, so I presume Vialle can't either.

More importantly, this rather fanciful (farcical?) 'best' selection is obviously a mere popularity contest. Does this reflect badly on her as a political candidate?  Is she winning so much voter approval more for her name recognition than for her qualifications?

Every time I've heard her speak, even in one-on-one conversation, she is primarily in 'transmit' mode, and rarely in 'receive.'  The last forum I saw, she seemed to simply repeat Dexter Gordon, who himself was rather uninspiring.  Not exactly what we need on the Board, in my estimation.

And, wouldn't it have been nice to recognize some full-time staff members who labor with much less recognition?  I know plenty of classified staff and certified teachers who devote extensive energy to their work, and deserve the recognition more than Vialle.

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