Meet your city leaders by joining Rotary or Kiwanis (or other community groups) and join your Chamber of Commerce if you are a local business or non-profit. Go to all City Council meetings and pick one or two things you care about. Apply for city or county committees like Human Affairs or Recreation or Planning or Environmental Policy. M…
Meet your city leaders by joining Rotary or Kiwanis (or other community groups) and join your Chamber of Commerce if you are a local business or non-profit. Go to all City Council meetings and pick one or two things you care about. Apply for city or county committees like Human Affairs or Recreation or Planning or Environmental Policy. Meet your City Council members so they know you by name. School Board is also a good choice if you have kids in that district (People without kids in that school should not be making decisions about them).
Maybe people without kids should stop paying taxes to support the schools? "Public" means "public." It means we all have a stake in the education of young people, even those of us who don't have kids.
Part of the problem now is parents trying to micromanage what their kids are taught. If they want to do that, they should home-school or find a private school whose beliefs match their own.
I am always glad, as a teacher, to collaborate with engaged parents. At the same time I notice that parents, even former teachers, when advocating for their children, aren't often able to see a situation with the whole picture/group in mind. Teacher confidentiality protocol does not allow for discussion of students, so no one but school professionals really knows anything but hearsay. Parents tend to advocate for their own children. Under these circumstances, parents should not be directing school policy in a public institution. They should be supporting the system by seeing to it that their children are staying engaged, and showing up for parent engagement activities.
In the public school system, a variety of perspectives must be taught with the lessons of critical thinking given to allow students to investigate, understand, compare, contrast, think and draw their own conclusions. We shouldn't be teaching fear of awareness, but how to view a subject through an open minded lens.
I disagree with your last sentence. I have kids and grandkids and the benefit of experience and wisdom—sometimes younger people ask me for advice, which surprises me until I start talking and realize I have some good advice.
Of course you have good advice. You can be an advisor to a local youth group or join a committee that gives out scholarships and leadership opportunities to local kids and teens.
I think the school board issues are getting ugly and might calm down if only current parents were involved. But I really don’t know because it’s just too sad. I was asked about my position on CRT when applying for a city Human Affairs Committee which is totally out of line. I just work with at risk kids and teach them arts and crafts.
It is important for seniors to be at school board meetings, and retired teachers. We absolutely can see the changes that are happening; have happened. That insight helps. People who live outside the District should not be there.
School board meetings, like all government meetings, should be open to all, including the press. It's customary to go into "executive session" (meaning closed to non-members) when personnel or legal matters are discussed, but other than that -- the meetings should be open.
Isn't there a system that's inclusive of the school districts? It would seem to be folly to ignore what is going on in a neighboring district or, indeed, in any district where there is trouble brewing.
Fortunately, we have a local groups and people who are paying attention and let people know what is going on. School Board elections are coming up and thankfully we have some good people running against the wing nuts. In other local school happenings, we have a couple friends who teach in a town a few mile north of us. They thought they were getting a good super when they hired the guy who had stood up against a wing nut school board (which recently lost in court), but he turned out to be an autocrat and when we talked to them, they were close to a strike. One of my ex-colleagues (who claimed at his interview for a teaching position that there was no history he didn't know much to our amusement) is now super of a rather large district who got rid of their inclusive super. I would love to know what this all-knowing one is actually doing there.
Meet your city leaders by joining Rotary or Kiwanis (or other community groups) and join your Chamber of Commerce if you are a local business or non-profit. Go to all City Council meetings and pick one or two things you care about. Apply for city or county committees like Human Affairs or Recreation or Planning or Environmental Policy. Meet your City Council members so they know you by name. School Board is also a good choice if you have kids in that district (People without kids in that school should not be making decisions about them).
And, volunteer volunteer volunteer!
Maybe people without kids should stop paying taxes to support the schools? "Public" means "public." It means we all have a stake in the education of young people, even those of us who don't have kids.
Part of the problem now is parents trying to micromanage what their kids are taught. If they want to do that, they should home-school or find a private school whose beliefs match their own.
I am always glad, as a teacher, to collaborate with engaged parents. At the same time I notice that parents, even former teachers, when advocating for their children, aren't often able to see a situation with the whole picture/group in mind. Teacher confidentiality protocol does not allow for discussion of students, so no one but school professionals really knows anything but hearsay. Parents tend to advocate for their own children. Under these circumstances, parents should not be directing school policy in a public institution. They should be supporting the system by seeing to it that their children are staying engaged, and showing up for parent engagement activities.
In the public school system, a variety of perspectives must be taught with the lessons of critical thinking given to allow students to investigate, understand, compare, contrast, think and draw their own conclusions. We shouldn't be teaching fear of awareness, but how to view a subject through an open minded lens.
Very well said. Thank you.
We actually had a board member and one of our teachers demand what they both knew was nonsense and it didn't happen thankfully.
thankfully...
there are those, demanding and full of fear.....talking those off the ledge...and listening is all we can do.
I have no children in the school system. I am glad to pay taxes. Do we want an educated Society or not?
I disagree with your last sentence. I have kids and grandkids and the benefit of experience and wisdom—sometimes younger people ask me for advice, which surprises me until I start talking and realize I have some good advice.
Of course you have good advice. You can be an advisor to a local youth group or join a committee that gives out scholarships and leadership opportunities to local kids and teens.
I think the school board issues are getting ugly and might calm down if only current parents were involved. But I really don’t know because it’s just too sad. I was asked about my position on CRT when applying for a city Human Affairs Committee which is totally out of line. I just work with at risk kids and teach them arts and crafts.
It is important for seniors to be at school board meetings, and retired teachers. We absolutely can see the changes that are happening; have happened. That insight helps. People who live outside the District should not be there.
School board meetings, like all government meetings, should be open to all, including the press. It's customary to go into "executive session" (meaning closed to non-members) when personnel or legal matters are discussed, but other than that -- the meetings should be open.
Isn't there a system that's inclusive of the school districts? It would seem to be folly to ignore what is going on in a neighboring district or, indeed, in any district where there is trouble brewing.
The older generation has been silenced too long. We need to speak up. Good for you.
Fortunately, we have a local groups and people who are paying attention and let people know what is going on. School Board elections are coming up and thankfully we have some good people running against the wing nuts. In other local school happenings, we have a couple friends who teach in a town a few mile north of us. They thought they were getting a good super when they hired the guy who had stood up against a wing nut school board (which recently lost in court), but he turned out to be an autocrat and when we talked to them, they were close to a strike. One of my ex-colleagues (who claimed at his interview for a teaching position that there was no history he didn't know much to our amusement) is now super of a rather large district who got rid of their inclusive super. I would love to know what this all-knowing one is actually doing there.
Yes!