Smarter and Harder

Eli educates Tim on the background and qualifications of each candidate.   Also, discussion about why a junkie made it into King Middle School bathroom to offer drugs to a student.  Poor response from administration.   Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Understanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)... Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Eli and Tim discuss the effect of one PPS teacher's public criticism of another teacher in her hometown for cultural appropriation during an American history lesson.  Too far?  Or appropriate respsone?  Also, final discussions on PPS budget.   Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Understanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)... Listen on: Apple Podcasts...

Eli and Tim take a deeper look into the budget and can't help but wonder how we are going to shoulder COVID spending in 3 years if this budget passes.  Now is the time to cut!!   Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Understanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)... Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Eli and Tim tries to make sense of why we took the state's $3million and added back in gardeners.   Leadership Lessons From The Great Books Understanding great literature is better than trying to read and understand (yet)... Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Eli and Tim discuss their first read of the PPS budget.  More of the same crap.  How are we increasing our budget by $15million with less students?   Tim is in the camp of shoot it down and let the new Superintendent pick up the pieces.  Eli wants to take a smarter look at the line items.  True to form, Smarter and Harder

Eli and Tim talk '23-'24 school budget and X-man somehow got a nod for the police citizen review committee.  Much to consider on the budget in '23!!

Eli and Tim discuss why a lack of discipline and holding the line is leading to 20 teachers calling out sick.   PPS policies are  failing at teaching our students how to be law-abiding citizens with respect for authority and rules.  

Eli and Tim interview one of PPS' greats, Brian Dodge.  Brian is a math teacher at Portland High School who has been teaching Calculus AB and BC.  

Eli and Tim talk about the focus groups for the Superintendent search committee.   It was not inclusive/equitable in the least.  Instead of getting everybody together in one room to disucss concerns/ideas, people were separated by language.  From the outside, it appeared that they segregated residents by skin color.   Is this how we model inculsive and immersive behavior to our educators?   

Eli and Tim discuss their ideas on the purpose of education as a way to help, perhaps, the hiring committee for the new superintendent of schools.

Eli and Tim record live at Brookside Food & Drink.  Eli explains why $3 million went unpaid for years to MainePers retirement for PPS employees.  Also, there's a new lawsuit coming for PPS from the PDE for favoring affinity groups.  Could this be what gets  the Figdor out of PPS' ass?  

Eli is beside himself.  Xavier somehow finds more money?  He gave $500 bonus' to only two PPS school staffs.  Also, somebody thinks Xman deserves a retirement party.  You can't make this stuff up!

Eli takes Tim to school on making sense of how PPS has decided to tackle Xavier's departure.  Why does it take 2 people to do the job of 1 after all these years?

Xavier does the right thing and calls it quits.  Eli gives his take on next steps to help right the ship that Emilie and X-man have run aground.  

Eli and Tim give a standing ovation to the teachers who stood up and called out the incompetence of Emily Figdor and Xavier Botana.  

Eli goes off on figuring out how PPS cannot figure out how to pay teachers.   Also, Figdor loses her spot as leader of PPS school committee.

Eli keeps a cool head, as usual.   Tim goes off, as usual.  An active shooter hoax at several high schools in Maine has brought to light the importance of SRO's.  

Eli breaks down the midterm voting results.   The DSA had a very rough day in Portland.   

Eli educates us on citizen referdendums A, B, C and E.   Question D is also still a thorn that needs to be dealt with.   1 week runup starts today. 

Hear from Tiffany Bond, candidate for U.S. Representatives District 2 Maine.   

Grace Skerritt educates Tim and Eli on the effects of a yes vote on Question D of the citizen initiative referendums.   Getting rid of the sub-minimum wage and, at the same time, tip credit for wait staff at restaruants is a bad idea.   With inflation already high, we should not be considering an initiative that would raise prices on everything in the City of Portland.  The DSA needs to be called...

Eli takes his smarty pants to the next level.   Tim scratches his head trying to keep up, as usual.   More explanation as to the thinking/genesis of the PPS school committee's decision to ban kids from watching high school sports.  

Eli is back!   Eli and Tim talk about Robyn Bailey's interview.  Also, they eplore PPS' decision to disallow students from watching their friends play sports in the city.   Also, they dig into Charter Commission questions #1 and #3.

Tim interviews Robyn Bailey to let the truth out about last year's doings at Lincoln Middle School.  A dedicated educator of 23 years and frustrated PPS parent, Robyn wrote an email to Portland City Council that hit a nerve in the socialist driven political machine.  She talks about what she would have done differently and also, more importantly, her experience with the lack of support from X...

Eli lays out the good and the bad with question 2.  In simple terms, an executive mayor is unnecessary and potentially detrimental to our city's needs.   Modify the system in place with small adjustments.  Tim feels smarter after this one!