My history with education begins with my grandfather and his experiences. As a child of a coal miner and farmer in the depression, his dreams of college were dashed by family personal and financial tragedy. He was one of the brightest people I have known who would quote the philosopher Spinoza and was a self-taught botanist, knowing the common and Latin names, uses, and properties of all the plants in his area. He worked hard as a farmer and then a custodian and drove his children to the library in the next town every day after school to make sure 6 of his 8 children went to and graduated from college. One of those children became a renowned chemist making jet fuel less explosive. My parents instilled in me that same reverence for education.
I have lived in Sausalito for 12 years now and my wife worked for three years at Bayside/MLK. From my own personal observations and interaction with students at MLK, I am concerned that our bright, enthusiastic students are not being provided the same basic opportunity to succeed that I had growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs where the majority of schools are nationally ranked and where all children are provided with the schools needed to ready them for college.
