Posted by: Brian Drayton Posted on: May 16, 2001 at 8:54 AM Message: I really enjoyed both these pieces, and find them stimulating in complementary ways. In addition to the two themes that Linda has posted about, I'd like to add "vision." I realized in reading Mark's piece that, for the Golden Gate Bridge, the bridge itself provides the thread of continuity for the maintenance work on its system -- the bridge itself, and the nature of its materials and functions. It seems to me that school systems are much more fragile, and do not have the same kind of irreducible core on which to base policy -- it's all emergent, depending on the vision of learning, teaching, and policy that is at play at any one time. So the role of the superintendent's vision (and the teachers' and others') is crucial, and is very threatened by turnover at every level. So part of the continuous maintenance ought to be a habit of conversation/negotiation about values in the district, so that visions don't just come and go with the crania that contain them. This is where Mark's idea of a 10% set-aside helps.