Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Well, Well...

Interesting and thought provoking posting from someone that I don't believe is Jacono, but who I have an idea who they are, eh, "girlfriend"?

My point is simple...You, this blog, is an aggitator. You seek to rile folks up with remarks designed to rip Mrs. Jacono and by extension the Holy Cross administration (and even the Diocese!). There is no solution in what you do here! Man-up, Be part of the solution...for if you are not then, in fact, you are part of the problem!!My children are getting a solid Catholic education, which is why I sent them in the first place. I have no problems with how things are run. You and your anonymous cohorts need to know that you do not speak for all. Mrs. Jacono, Holy Cross, Father Dan and the Wilmington Diocese are my home..You may think that the "faithful" do not exist. You are wrong. And I am not Mrs. Jacono!!

Lots to talk about, but I'll take one point right now, and that is the agitator one.

Guilty, dear, as charged. However, like the agitator in a washing machine, without a lot of things going on, there is no effect. Cleant clothes require something to wash, some soap, some water, and the rest of the machinary to work (and, yes, this is an A-N-A-L-O-G-Y...which means that it is not to be taken literally). Without one of them, the agitator does no good. And, like many other "Agitators" like Thomas Paine, Martin Luther (and King), nothing would get done (and, NO I am not comparing myself to Martin Luther King....it is an A-N-A-L-O-G-Y....Tree is to paper as rubber is to tire does not mean I think a tree is a tire).


I also KNOW I don't speak for all. There are many I talk to who feel much, much stronger about her then I do. I even know a very prominent person who believes she is "evil", as in big "E" evil. I don't go that far, believing that gives her way too much credit for what amounts to someone who simply doesn't know the basics of management. However, I also acknowledge there are those who like her personally (like you, I guess) because she treats them differently then others ,for God knows what reason. I also know there are many - perhaps the majority - of people who don't know or don't care about this. I was surprised to find someone like that the other day. I didn't say much to them, believe it or not, but to have heard nothing is something is indicative of someone who hasn't been paying attention - would you agree with me on that?

What you refuse to accept is that there is a certain number of people who feel as I do. Your focusing on me, or elevating me to some God-Like status (it is an...okay, I hope you get it) allows you to ignore the comments themselves. Good tactic, I guess, but way too obvious. You want to ignore the 15-25% who feel roughly the same way I do.

Does that matter? Well, if it was an election, probably not. However, most businesses couldn't afford to have that many unhappy customers, especially one that already relies on subsidies. You don't think the number of people who left last year caused the leadership to "discuss" the matter with Denise?

So...I agitate because there is something to agitate about. The problem is that for most of the first year, people didn't know about each other's issues with her. It didn't help that when they went to Father Dan SEVERAL people heard him say, "Well, this is the first time I heard about this". You want to shoot the messenger (I never realized how many analogies I use...but I don't really believe you want to shoot me - do you?), and ignore the message.

I'll have more to say, but I'll let you and others respond to this.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

No, I am sorry. I won't answer for now at least. I will let you wallow in your own personal hell...enjoy!

The Quizzinator said...

Oh, come on. You've proven yourself as one who does't walk away....did I say something that hit close to home?

Anonymous said...

Nope...you have to live with yourself for a while...I'll write when the times is right...see ya on the flipside...eh...girlfriend!

The Quizzinator said...

Okay. Thanks for playing, and we'll be here when you come back.

Anonymous said...

THe Catholic education may be fine, but I do have problems with the way things are run.

Anonymous said...

The catholic may be good but the education sucks

Anonymous said...

If you are that unhappy at Holy Cross Why don't you leave?

Anonymous said...

Quizzinator...Are your children students of HCS? I want my children to stay clear of them!

The Quizzinator said...

Not sure of your point, as I've answered it time and time again.

I truly believe that the school is worse off then it was 2 years ago. I think the number of teachers, parents, and kids who are no longer speak volumes as to this self-evident truth.

I don't expect a principal to do more then run a school. I think setting a good tone, showing good moral leadership, wise decision making, and dealing with people don't have to be perfect, but they can't all be negative.

I have stated here over and over again why she has proven to be less then stellar in her performance, and I certainly am not alone in beleiving she can't deal with people, a skill that above all I think a principal in a public or private school needs.

She has turned people against the school, she has driven people away from the school. What part of that do you not get? And, if there were two or three people, maybe they should leave - but when you are talking about double digit percentages of the parents leaving, don't you think that means SOMETHING?

Tell you what...let's say that there was a number that the school was at pre-Jacono (Let's say 650 - close enough to the real number). Is there any number that the school could decline to where you would be forced to admit that she must be at least part of the problem?

Anonymous said...

What part don't you get?
Answer the Question...If you are that unhappy with a product you are paying for why not leave.

Anonymous said...

I can't answer for the Quiz, but there are parents who have been at the school for years and care about it. They don't want to give up on it so easily.

Anonymous said...

The "just leave' people are dispicable.

Anonymous said...

Just home from 4th of july celebrations in Dover.
What is worthly of being despised is this blog.so sorry you don't enjoy HCS .Good luck in your new adventures.Enjoyed an evening on the dover lawn with many happy HCS friends.time to move onto other educational CHOICES!!!

Anonymous said...

Those that you would have leave have as much right to stay and push for a better school as you do to back Jacono.
Some have more right, having put in tons of time and treasure. It must really gall you to know that you can't force them out.

Anonymous said...

The problem is not your opinion. Certainly you may have one! Afterall as a previous poster points out, this is not Iran! It is those who use this blog as an avenue for going after Mrs. Jacono. The problem with that logic is as another poster pointed out that you're using a wrecking ball and not a scalpel!

I firmly believe along with many of my fellow parishoners that this blog offers little in the way of help to our little Catholic Community! No digs; no bs; just dialogue...

Anonymous said...

Like it or not Mrs. Jacono and Father Dan are our leaders! If you've read history, and I sense that you have not, you would find that all leaders draw criticism: even George Washington was criticized within in his own command (see Joshua Reed and General Lee). Change is tough..people buckle..hundreds of Colonists signed oaths of loyalty to King George early in the Revolution. Fear did it to them. Fear is what fuels this blog. Fear of change; fear of standing up for a principle; fear of losing a place in the community.

Franklin Roosevelt hit it on the head in delivering his first inauguration speech in 1932, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". You see Quiz fear creates chaos. And chaos not only adds to the problem, but becomes the problem!

The signers of the Declaration and the framers of our sacred Constitution stood in the face of fear and helped create solutions to big problems...That's the analogy Quiz!

Okay let's see the spin!!

Anonymous said...

It is NOT change that's the issue here. How many times does that need to be pointed out? It's her cruel behavior. The way she treats many of her staff and parents is completely unacceptable in any situation. She's the one who creates fear and chaos.

Why would (at least) 14 faculty members meet with Father Dan during her first year? It certainly wasn't because of the changes. This blog most likely started because it was a last resort. For those who have been to Father Dan, Mrs. Jacono, or the Diocese, it's like beating their head against the wall.

The Quizzinator said...

Analogies are never perfect, friend, but the fact remains, if YOU read history, that the revolution did not start on July 43rd. It was a period of years where people were fine with anything as long as it did not affect them, or they benefitted from it.

It was when it became intolerable that change finally happened. I don't know if we are going to get there, or, if like other English possessions, THEY change the way they do things. For some, the revolution HAS happened by their sucession from the school. You don't care, I guess, that so many people have left, but as a parishioner who has to make up the quite sizable subsidy, I do care.

Look...the costs haven't changed much from year to year. Denise has played a bit of a shell game for some small potatoes, but failed more often then she has succeeded in this. The lack of a reading program this summer is a perfect example of her "management", and her heavy-handed methods.

So, if the costs remain roughly the same, and the number of students decrease, where will the money come from?

Anonymous said...

I think the point that your guest is making is that as long as you stay hidden and snipe, YOU don't get to complain!!!

Have a nice day:)

Anonymous said...

I think this deserves a cover Quiz...

Like it or not Mrs. Jacono and Father Dan are our leaders! If you've read history, and I sense that you have not, you would find that all leaders draw criticism: even George Washington was criticized within in his own command (see Joshua Reed and General Lee). Change is tough..people buckle..hundreds of Colonists signed oaths of loyalty to King George early in the Revolution. Fear did it to them. Fear is what fuels this blog. Fear of change; fear of standing up for a principle; fear of losing a place in the community.

Franklin Roosevelt hit it on the head in delivering his first inauguration speech in 1932, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". You see Quiz fear creates chaos. And chaos not only adds to the problem, but becomes the problem!

The signers of the Declaration and the framers of our sacred Constitution stood in the face of fear and helped create solutions to big problems...That's the analogy Quiz!

Okay let's see the spin!!

The Quizzinator said...

Except, of course, you ignore that:

1. Many of us, including me, HAVE gone the appropriate channels, have had our concerns acknowledged, and then saw little done;

2. Going public, even to the extent we did above, was met with retaliation, which tends to discourage others, wouldn't you say?

And why don't you ever answer any questions? I like the discourse, but you could try to respond to some of mine, unless, as I suspect, you can't. It is easier to simply do what many do at Holy Cross, and that it put blinders on, ignore what you don't like, and charge ahead.

The Quizzinator said...

What kind of "cover" are you looking for? You don't think the colonists tried, before they left, many means of getting satisfaction? Do you think they didn't try time and time again? Do you also not realize that many colonists simply didn't want to get involved, or that many were willing to "stay the course", even during the Revolution, or did your history studies ignore the loyalist faction that waxed and waned during the war?

Anonymous said...

Quiz I don't put blinders on. I hear my kids tell me of their day. They are happy. They are well known by Father Dan, the teachers and yes Mrs. Jacono. I will continue to defend what is right for my children...a Catholic education!

The Quizzinator said...

If you don't have blinders on, then why do you continue to direct your comments strictly to the peripherary of what is being discussed here? Have you ever addressed any of the issues here, especially the comments of those who have left, their findings on the other side, and why they left? Is it that hard for you to admit that, yes, a significant number of people have left or are considering leaving SIMPLY because of Denise Jacono? We can quibble about the numbers, but do you recognize this? If you can't say this, you have more then the blinders on - you've got a blindfold.

I don't think that everything she does is wrong; heck, I'd probably agree with 90% of what she does, because most of it is either administrivia or decisions that I've stated time and time again that are hers to make. What bothers the majority of people are two areas....the way she treats people, and the way she communicates.

I'm repeating myself, but I don't care, for instance, which uniform company she uses, but what was grating was her attitude during the whole switchover. Loyalists tend to take each of these issues and try to make the case of why uniforms, or parking, or ice cream days are or are not the greatest thing since sliced bread, and ignoring that she misrepresnts her decision (saying, for instance, that some parent cancelled the Flynn and O'Harra contract), or simply changing things to change things (doing away with a pizza party provided by a local business for honor roll kids one time ,saying it wasn't necessary, and then "inventing" an ice cream social.

Anonymous said...

I don't need to answer your questions because I am happy. Others may be unhappy. Some of those left...good for them!

You are the attacker! I am simply defending my children's school! As for the nature of your complaints: I think they are petty..the musings of someone who doesn't have anything better to do with time then to piss and moan..anonymously! So when you go public (and in many ways you have) fully public, you may not get such critical attacks. In fact you may get some support.

The Quizzinator said...

Okay...you say you don't answer because you are "happy", I say because you can't.

If there is one thing that I've said about Denise that is wrong, please point it out. If she hasn't yelled at teachers, if she hasn't demeaned them, if she hasn't snubbed parents, stayed away at most evening events until the very end of the year, if she hasn't driven a certain number of parents and kids away, I'll gladly shut up.

You once again confuse "attacking" with "stating the facts."

Anonymous said...

The issues you describe may be fact. However, we as a community cannot heal, or begin to think about healing until we unite.

Here is another fact for you to list: this blog at best is a gossip lover's "guilty pleasure" (one of your guest's terms - not mine)at worst it is divisive and harmful to our Church and school.

Anonymous said...

Here is my suggestion: Ask again and again for meetings with the community and the Church. I know you say you tried this avenue...You really did not...you (or maybe not you) attempted to bully your way past the Diocese and Fr. Dan. Bullying never works! Extending an invitation to a "bitch" session only counts as bullying! There are plenty of things working at HCS. We need to start there.