Category: Uncategorized

Since part one was about money, the next lies will be about money but more about stated versus real priorities.

When an organization tells you their priorities, you assume that they will be concerned about those things FIRST and almost exclusively. For example, the NFL Player’s Association, according to its name, has as its priority the people who play in the NFL. They look out for them, negotiate for them, etc. There’s no mystery or deception there, although they have fallen down on the job occasionally. It is their stated priority.

Lie Number 3: Teacher’s Unions Care about Teachers and Students

Let’s take a long hard look at teacher’s unions. There are two large teacher’s unions in the U.S., the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. It’s interesting that the NEA, which used to be the National Teachers Association, changed it’s name in 1870 to the National Education Association. Who knows why they did it, branding, assumption of other organizations, etc.

I guess its a good thing they did that, because somewhere in the 20’s, the mission of the NEA began to change. Instead of being focused primarily on representing teachers, it pivoted to promoting social justice issues. Yes, social justice. If you view the NEA history timeline, you won’t see important dates where they accomplished improvements in teacher’s salaries and working conditions, you will see dates when they developed committees that focused on ethnic minorities, when they elected a Hispanic President, a Black President, all female leadership team, and, finally, in 2015, where they named “eradicating institutional racism” as a consuming issue on their agenda. That same year they acknowledged “the existence of White Supremacy as a primary root cause of institutional racism, structural racism, and White privilege.” So, I guess their White dues paying members are part of the problem?

Still waiting for the part where they care about teachers. We’ll get back to that.

The other union, the American Federation of Teachers, was created in 1916 as part of the AFL union. In their history, they do list things they have done for their member teachers, issues like academic freedom, raising salaries, and abolishing board required loyalty oaths that developed as part of the Red Scare. Progressing to the current years, they have continued to center themselves on improving conditions and salaries for teachers. Even their mission statement still includes “high quality public education” and “collective bargaining.” Except that is a smokescreen.

They can’t resist pivoting their attention to other issues including community organizing, polictical activism, and healthcare for students. And, unfortunately, if you go to the AFT Resolutions you’ll see a long list of resolutions addressing excessive force by police officers, Black Lives Matter at School Week, military spending, LGBTQ support, and on and on. And, don’t forget an endorsement for Joe Biden.

In four pages of resolutions, none are about teachers’ salaries or working conditions. NONE.

Maybe the AFT decided that they needed to compete with the NEA for the “Union Most Likely to Get Woke” Award. They certainly weren’t competing to be the most effective for teachers.

None of this actually surprises me. Aside from a span of approximately six months in my career when I must have been naive, I never saw the Teachers Union as useful. The only reason I paid the dues every month was because I was under the impression that they would fight for me only if I was a member. I didn’t realize it didn’t matter if I was a member or not because of state law.

When I went to a state convention and was bullied for six hours to donate to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s campaign for Governor, the union crossed a huge line in the sand. I saw what they cared about, and it wasn’t teachers.

Some may argue that the lack of focus at the national level doesn’t accurately portray what unions do locally. They would be completely wrong.

Let’s establish the cash cow of the union before I talk about the local chapter. It’s astounding how much money National Union Officials make. The Union has over 700 employees, and at least two thirds of them have compensation of over $100,000 dollars a year. The President makes $429,569; and the top 25 employees listed make over $200,000. Even a job listed as ” Senior Confidential Specialist” makes over $100,000. ( And what exactly does that person do? Make sure he stamps secret documents with “confidential”?

Here’s the best part. The NEA has close to three million members, and lists assets of $411,788,220. That’s more than some small countries.

Salaries at the AFT are very close, although they only have 1, 684,544 members and $135,106,119 in assets. Both organizations have top officials who make ten times more than the average teacher.

Where do they get income? Aside from member dues, the NEA gets money from donors, grants, and investments. What is more important is how do they spend that money?

One would think that the bulk of their funds should be spent on “representational activities” or activities that actually help their members, i.e. legal representation, negotiating contracts, improving working conditions and pay. These are the activities that are supposed to be the core purpose of NEA.

NEA spent nearly $651 million in 2020. That’s about 1.8 million per day. They spent $35,759,179 dollars on representational activities. That equals about 5 cents per dollar. In 2019, they spent 10 cents per dollar on these activites. NEA’s income increased by nearly $230 million in 2020, but spending on representation went down by over $6.6 million.

But, good news for their top employees. Spending on salaries for them went up to $60,643,710, 69% more than it’s total spending on representational activities. They spent over $50 million on “political activities and lobbying” and $120 million on other “contributions, gifts and grants” which can be political in nature. These include funding their own political action committees, ballot initiatives ( that often have nothing to do with teachers or education) and at least $20 million to self proclaimed “progressive” organizations.

One example is a group called the “Democracy Alliance” a group of wealthy liberal donors that Politico calls ” the left’s secret club.”

Between 1990 and 2010, 93% of donations made by the NEA via political action committees and individual officers went to Democrats. However, only 41 % of the teacher members during that time were Democrats. So, while members are told their dues are being used to get better wages, benefits, and working conditions, that is nowhere near the truth.

Unions don’t care about teachers other than how they can use their numbers as a way to garner more money and power. As the Wall Street Journal said, “the union is a honey pot for left wing political causes that have nothing to do with teachers.”

What about the local affiliates?

It’s almost unfair in small counties to compare the local union to the National organization. With very few schools, a small population of teachers and students, it’s not a huge money making enterprise for anyone in office in these counties.

HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean they care any more about teachers.

In my teaching career, I knew four people who held the office of local union head. Of those four people, only one was someone who used their position for personal gain, and that was to keep administration from firing them. The other three did/do “care” about their fellow teachers.

But, we are seeing that this might be changing for a variety of reasons.

We are currently experiencing something in this country that I have never seen or heard of in the past. Aside from the pressures of Covid measures, we have teachers in counties which are normally fairly peaceful who are being assaulted by students, intimidated by Board Members/Administration in order to keep them silent about unethical and discriminatory actions by school based administration, and being told not to discipline certain students due to demographics.

When these teachers take these issues to the Board of Education and Superintendent, they are either shut down or ignored. Even the union, the ones who are supposed to help, are not responsive.

Why? Why are even the local union affiliates unwilling to help these teachers fight and expose what is going on?

In some cases it may be that in smaller systems the unions and the administrations are so friendly to each other that they form a mutual protection bubble. ” I won’t tell on you, you won’t hassle me.”

Maybe they have been intimidated into silence as well. After all, even being a local union head may not protect one from an undesirable assignment in the system. Or, maybe the reverse is in play. They get more favorable assignments if they keep the system out of the union ( and public) radar.

It could also be that the resources of the state and national union are not as available to the locals and they must be used on more politically useful causes.

Or, they are too lazy and just don’t care. Unlike national officers, locals don’t make money for this.

And like police, medical personnel, etc. the exodus of teachers is startling. In a system of 400 teachers, 12 open positions can be crippling.

Imagine how this is playing out in large cities and districts.

Think about this. The Rand Corporation reported some alarming results in 2021:

1. Nearly one in four teachers reported they will leave the profession at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.
2. Seventy-eight percent of teachers reported significant job related stress due to hybrid learning, lack of support, etc.) roughly 50% higher than the general workforce.
3. In 2021, teachers reported depression at a rate 2 1/2 times greater than the general population.
4. Among the many additional stressors reported by teachers during the pandemic, lack of ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT was a major factor in creating difficult working conditions which resulted in increased stress, depression and burn out.

And, if you think this doesn’t impact our students think again. If these teachers aren’t replaced, class sizes increase and educational options decrease. If they are replaced and their replacements are either unqualified or underqualified, students pay the price. Think about all the stories you hear of teachers treating children abusively. Many times these are teachers who are unsuitable for the job but are hired out of desparation.

And if you are worried about indoctrination, remember that an unqualified, poorly trained teacher is more likely to jump on that bandwagon where a more experienced, skilled teacher may not.

So, the students suffer too.

Still think the unions represent and care about teachers? Think again.

Quite frankly, the teachers’ unions, like other unions in this country, have become something they were never intended to be or should be.

They are money laundering machines for the political elites and every socialist political cause in the country and a full participant in the destruction of our education system.

And that hurts EVERYONE.

Links: https://schoolmint.com/teacher-attrition-a-critical-problem-for-americas-schools/

https://www.nea.org/about-nea/mission-vision-values/history-nea

Use of Dues for Politics

http://aftfacts.com/the-american-federation-of-teachers/

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/heres-how-iea-nea-unions-said-they-spent-teachers-money-in-2020/
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=L1300
https://www.the74million.org/article/analysis-tracking-the-neas-and-afts-43-million-in-donations-to-pacs-advocacy-organizations-nonprofits-and-the-state-engagement-fund/
https://www.unionfacts.com/employees/American_Federation_of_Teachers

https://www.unionfacts.com/employees/National_Education_Association

The following is the first part of a multi-day blog outlining the various lies the American public is told about the public, private, and parochial schools in our country.

Definition: The Greek word for education is “edukos” which means “to draw forth from within.” Think about that as you look at what your child is taught each day.

As I was watching an interview with a local Superintendent of Schools the other day, this quote struck me. She said, “The education system in this country was created by White men for White men.” As I said in my previous blog post, this is a lie. ( see previous post).

But it’s not the only lie they tell you about education in the United States. There are many, many more. So many more that I probably can’t cover them all in one, or two, or ten blog posts. These lies are, to use the Marxist term, “systemic.” And when I say systemic, I mean actually systemic, not just created by some political activist in order to raise money.

The systemic lies told about education in this country are so ingrained, so permanent, that you could probably engrave them on the wall of every Board of Education, State Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Education. You could use the space where they used to have the ten commandments or the Constitution.

And they are voiced by a large and diverse group of people who make a living off these lies. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Democrat, Republican, Teachers’ Unions, Social Justice organizations, anarchists, religious groups, media outlets, local, state, national government officials of every county, district and state in the union, I could go on and on. No matter what you have been led to believe about the U.S. Educational system, it is probably a lie.

I know. I participated in the lie, and probably consciously or unconsciously, repeated it and used it as a defense of the schools. So, when I go through these lies one by one, please understand that I come from a place of seeing them first hand. Please understand that I value education and how it can help people improve their situation in life, but I also understand that it can be used as a weapon to create citizens who are indoctrinated into ideas that will do extreme harm to them and others.

I will share the lies in no particular order, as the importance of one of them is no more than any of the others. You can decide which ones you think you have been impacted the most by.

First Lie: Schools in this country are underfunded. This is a particularly useful lie for the education system in this country and the unions. They convince people that the problem with public schools is due to funding. If we would just pay more, spend more, our schools would do much better. The liars will tell you that we don’t spend a large enough portion of our federal, state, and local dollars on the education of our children.

The ineffectiveness of the education system is like every other ongoing problem that government creates and then attempts to use as a method to get more money from the American taxpayer. If the goal was to actually solve the problem, it could have been solved by now. But, too many people will lose access to the cash cow if that happens, so the problem perpetuates.

It’s important to note that federal dollars were never intended to provide funding for public schools. That was delegated to state and local governments. But, with the creation of the U.S. Department of Education in the 70’s, federal funding came with it. Federal funds currently make up about 8% or $752.3 (2019) billion of public school funding. (1) With that money, there are always multiple strings attached by whichever political party is in power. It’s a method of coercion from the feds as they demand that locals follow federal directives in order to get the cash. Everything from mask mandates, discipline procedures, and, of course, content taught is suddenly controlled from D.C.

School systems that were supposed to be run and controlled by local communities are being controlled more and more by bureaucrats in D.C.

Let’s take a closer look at what the states provide in school funding. I’ll use Maryland since it is where I live. In the school year 2017-2018, state revenues for public elementary and secondary schools as a percentage of total public school revenues were 42%. So, federal and state funding together comprises approximately 50% of school revenues. This leaves the locals to provide an additional 50%. In Maryland, locals have little or no choice about how little or how much funding they will provide public schools. They are mandated to provide “maintenance of effort” funding which is a law that takes the decision making about school funding out of the hands of local officials. They MUST provide funding at least the same level as current or prior years or lose federal funding. This basically forces education funding to increase each year which can also cause an increase of the taxes paid by the citizens of that community.

Twenty-five percent of the funding in Maryland is from property taxes. The rest comes from additional sources, i.e. income taxes.

So, what does this all mean in REAL numbers. In our county, that local funding amounts to approximately 60 MILLION dollars. This is for a system of seven schools and roughly 4000 students. This amount does not include any federal funding or grants. Nor does it include the massive infusion of money based on Covid 19 relief.

And yet, if you listen to the Board President, in reference to the county council cutting 3 million cut from the original ask, “These requests were based on their most basic needs. ( referencing those from principals, teachers, etc.)”We have accepted this budget in hopes that in the future we can better provide for the growth and development of all of our students and staff.” Notice that she used the word “accepted.” The use of that word implies that she was insulted that the county council didn’t give them everything they wanted. How dare they.

By the way, per pupil expenditures range in each school in Talbot from approximately $12,000 to almost $16,000. And, again, that is only certain expenses ( teacher salaries, materials, etc.) and doesn’t include any grants or federal funding.

But it is never enough. Why is that?

There are probably a variety of reasons, most of which revolve around staff salaries and insurance costs. Teachers, like most employees, always want to be paid more. But, it also reflects a desire for more middle level staff in central office and also the so called “unfunded” mandates imposed by the state and federal governments. These mandates are more about politicians looking good and not actually making schools better. These mandates are probably why funds are wasted on staff training initiatives in diversity training ( in our system over a half million in seven years) and other topics that don’t ever seem to solve any of the problems they are intended to solve. Let’s face it. They don’t want those problems solved. But they do love giving them lip service. Expensive lip service.

If, in seven years, you have not improved the way your employees teach diverse student populations, you’re doing it wrong.

And never, ever discount the greedy nature of the Teachers’ Unions and their ties to the ruling government elites. While they cry about the plight of the lowly, underpaid teachers, the officers of the unions collect big salaries and are money laundering operations for politicians of every station and party. That’s why you see Biden and his DOJ bending over backwards to proclaim parents as Domestic Terrorists. ( Later on this week I will share the salaries of the Union hierarchy. You will be shocked.)

So, what is the return on investment for all this funding? Read on.

Lie Number Two-Schools are Doing a Great Job Educating our Kids: Well, not exactly. Let’s approach this from two vantage points.

World Rankings: When the Program for International Student Assessment was given by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018, the U.S. placed 11th out of 79 countries in science. It did worse in math, ranking 30th. Countries such as Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan were in the top five in math. Singapore, Macao, Estonia, Japan and Finland were in the top in science.

These low rankings mean that U.S. students are at a definite disadvantage when in competition with international students for high paying computer and engineering jobs.

State testing (which has been in place in Maryland since the 90’s) shows that student scores in the areas of English/Language Arts (41.2% proficient in 2019), Mathematics ( 42.5% proficient in 2019), and Science (29.1% proficient in 2019) have not substantially improved since 2015. In Science, scores have actually declined. Again, the excuse is always funding, funding, funding. If the schools were given more money, these results would be better. Nevermind the fact that as the amount of money given to schools increases exponentially, the results decline in almost direct proportion.

Anecdotally, both educators and parents tell us how their children do not have the basic skills they will need to be successful, functioning adults. If you look at school system courses of study, you’ll see why. The basic content necessities have been shoved aside so teachers can conduct social justice and social emotional lessons. Not exactly teaching kids how to think critically, but more like teaching them to think along “government” lines, how to feel better while you aren’t learning.

Classroom time is often interupted for the “cause du jour” activity, promoted by some political official wishing to make his/her reputation by addressing an issue that is being pushed by the mainstream media. Ask any teacher about how much instructional time is lost to this nonsense each year, and you may be surprised.In the past it was “attitude surveys” about smoking, alcohol and drug use, etc. This year, it is a constant drum beat of “counseling” kids regarding their feelings, anger, etc. After all, there are millions of dollars in grants from the government provided for more counseling so, by heaven, they must find a way to give more counseling.

Frankly, if they hadn’t closed the schools and masked the kids while scaring them to death about a disease that has a survival rate above 95%, children might not have needed counseling. If they hadn’t forced kids to see each other as oppressors or suppressed, they might not have needed counseling. Again, they broke it and want you to pay to fix it.

But remember, fixing the broken system is not something they really want. There’s no money in that.

One of the practices impacting student achievement is “teaching to the middle.” Teachers do this as a matter of survival in classes that have an educational range from students who have yet to master skills required in grades one to two years lower, those who are right on track, and those who are advanced. The latter must be mercilessly held back or given busy work to keep doing something while the rest of the class catches up. Those at the bottom are dragged along, never really achieving but being given social promotion to the next grade, falling further and further behind each year.

Educational administrators claim this could be avoided if class sizes were smaller. Therefore, once again the schools need more money. This is not true. While smaller classes might be nice, it’s no easier to teach five different academic levels of students in a class or 20 than in a class of 30.

I don’t blame teachers for this. Regardless of how the one room school houses of the past fared, this mix of achievement levels is a recipe for failure. Very few teachers, regardless of their skill, can teach multiple academic levels at one time effectively. When you ask them to teach more at more levels in less time and include the growing menus of what certain groups of children can and cannot be expected to do because of their subgroup status, you have guaranteed they can’t do the most important job of all, teach fundamental skills.

What’s the solution? Stop making schools the dumping ground for every feel good, useless, politically motivated cause, lesson, etc. Get the focus of schools back where it belongs, on academics, on learning, on REAL critical thinking. Give teachers REAL options, strategies, in teaching CHILDREN, not racist subgroup stereotypes created to excuse failure.

And this is just the start, because there are other lies about schools we must address to make real improvement.

And that’s for other installments of this blog.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/05/united-states-spending-on-public-schools-in-2019-highest-since-2008.htm

It has taken me since November 18th to view a video interview of Kelly Griffith, Talbot County Superintendent of Schools. Why? Because I knew exactly what she would say. And, honestly, I didn’t expect to learn anything new.

I’ve known Kelly for a while, probably since she came to the system. I don’t dislike her. In fact, I enjoyed working for her when she was at Easton High School. I didn’t always agree with her, but she was a good principal. When she was selected to be Superintendent, I told many people she was the best choice.

Doesn’t mean I never saw or don’t see the flaws in her words and actions. I could share some stories of how she has negatively impacted the careers of dear friends of mine, but I imagine that anyone who has been in administration, may have impeded or stunted someone else’s career. Sometimes it’s based on professional reasons, sometimes it’s not. Survival of the fittest?

I always saw her as politically astute. She knew how to frame things in such a way to get people on her side. And she wanted to be open and communicate .I think her nine years as Superintendent may have changed her.

The Superintendent’s position itself has changed drastically in the last thirty years. So, callousness with any Superintendent may be exacerbated by how political the position has become. Add political pressures to personal personality traits, and you sometimes get a Superintendent that plays that game in order to keep the job and basically to survive. Very few people are strong enough in their convictions to fight that battle without sacrificing honesty and integrity to a certain degree.

The best Superintendent I worked for was a man who many hated. Some of them had legitimate reasons. He did some bad things to good people. He and I had words several times, and at one point I could no longer work in the administrative capacity in the system because I couldn’t do some of the tough things he wanted. But, you knew where the man stood. He wore his emotions of his sleeve, especially when he was angry. I often wondered if it was what caused his fatal heart attack.

And, he told the truth, even when it was harsh and hard to hear. He made positive change in the system by facing hard problems and imposing hard solutions.

But, as I said, there are not many like him who can do that job and throw political correctness to the wind.

Dr. Griffith can’t. I don’t think she exaggerates and fudges intentionally, because like most of us, she tells the story as she sees it. Unfortunately, it isn’t always the truth.

So, let’s get to the task at hand.

She had an interview on a local online publication. I watched it this morning. And there are some problems. I won’t call them lies, I will call them “inaccuracies.”

Decisions Regarding Masking Students in School: In the first part of her interview, Dr. Griffith discusses how the system came through the pandemic, how they kept students in school more than many systems, etc.

She describes how this Fall they had every intention to keep the kids in school without masks. Then, suddenly, the numbers of cases reported by our health department were in the red and SHE made the decision to require masks. This was prior to the State Board mandate.

First problem. When members of the school board were questioned about the masking decision, they told people who asked that it was a Talbot County School Board decision by “consensus.” Which is it?

Could be she is protecting the Board by falling on her sword, but I wonder because the question asked by the community was IF the Board made the decision and if they didn’t, why not? It was a question about authority. Many people who know more than I do say that it is the Board that should make the decision, not the Superintendent. Moving on. She states that they didn’t have ” one problem” with the implementation of mandatory masks. That’s a whopper and I can’t ignore it. Multiple children had problems. As I have recounted before, parents have told me about their children being screamed at by teachers for masking issues, about children riding busses for hours in bloody masks ( and on one noticed) because wearing the mask causes nose bleeds, upticks in cases of certain diseases caused by masks, etc. Come on Kelly, there has definitely been more than “one problem.”

She says they made the decision so children wouldn’t have to quarantine for 14 days. That, as the Facebook fact checkers would say, is “partly false.” No, there were no planned 14 day quarantines. There were ten and five day quarantines depending on whether a child had been vaccinated or not. And these quarantines were often given arbitrarily by school staff who seemed to spin the Covid wheel of “contact tracing,” sending children who sat in a classroom with another student who was positive home for ten days while allowing siblings of that positive student to return to school the next day. When parents questioned these incidents, some were threatened with being removed from the school property by school administrators. There were many other problems as well.

Which leads to the Superintendent’s claim of relying on “relationships and trust…having conversation…and being transparent” in order to solve the problems. I hope I’m not the only one telling her that there is a trust issue.

There is a trust issue.

There are many parents who no longer trust the system, and it’s not because of “misinformation” or “conspiracy theories.” It’s because they can’t get a straight answer out of either the Superintendent OR the Board regarding any of the issues in a public forum. Parents may be able to schedule a conversation with administrators ( as long as some of them are escorted by police?) but only ten at a time may address the Board and the Superintendent in a public meeting. The Board has arbitrarily limited their meetings to a room at the Board office that can only hold ten members of the public with “social distancing” at a time. They cite safety as the main concern. * They could move, they have plenty of places where they could get more people in to speak, but they choose not to. I know the rationale for that choice first hand after asking Dr. Griffith in an email. They have always done it that way and so it will continue that way. Oh, and they point the finger at the health department who promptly points their finger back at the BOE.

*By the way, the concern for safety is questionable if you look at the blog posted November 18, 2021 showing the Board meeting with members lowering their masks at every opportunity.

Dr. Griffith is correct when she says that the pandemic created some good for kids. She discusses the option of virtual learning which 37 people have taken for their children this year. Unfortunately, this option is not available for those children who have been contact traced and sent home for five to ten days. My question is, why? Still waiting.

To sum up this section of the video, the Superintendent glowingly described the system’s “attention to detail.” While I know that all possibilities cannot be anticipated, but I think the incidents above and many others show that the attention to detail was lacking and shocking.

Critical Race Theory in the Schools: Like every other Superintendent, Dr. Griffith claims “we don’t have critical race theory as curriculum, we teach History, Government, Civics and State Standards.” In this statement she actually tells the truth while not telling the truth.

Everyone who knows anything about school systems, knows that there is curriculum and there is what is actually taught. Curriculum is the “official” objectives being taught, when they are taught, etc. BUT, what is often left out of the official “curriculum” is what the teacher says, how he/she interprets objectives and which materials and lessons are involved in teaching those objectives. Where those lessons and materials originate is CRITICAL to finding the truth about what goes on in classrooms. The very fact that the State Standards are the basis for the curriculum opens the door for Critical Race Theory, regardless of what you call it.

More evidence is that teachers in the system go through cultural diversity training. Sounds harmless, right? What could be wrong with understanding the different cultures in our country if you teach? Nothing. ( By the way, ask the county to give you information about what is taught in this training, which teachers attend, who teaches it, what it costs, etc. You would fare better asking the CIA to list their covert operations in foreign countries.)

The problem with cultural diversity training comes when you tell teachers, especially young teachers, that they have “implicit bias” and racial prejudices, regardless of who they are or how they act. Add to it that the Superintendent says in her interview, “our educational system was designed by white men for white men. “

Let’s dissect this. The initial attempt at education in this country, way back in the 18th Century WAS designed and limited to white men. But, women and Black men and women also participated in that history. To ignore that fact ignores the accomplishments of Booker T. Washington, Catherine Beecher, Jane Addams, Mary McLeod Bethune and many others. But, this comment not only does that, but it implies that the system has not changed at all since then. This is ridiculous. It is also a condemnation of Dr. Griffith and any of the rest of us who have worked long term in the education system. If it is indeed the same system, then why didn’t she ( or any of the many Democrat governors/Presidents, etc.) change it?

Another flaw is that when you tell a teacher that they are a biased oppressor based on their skin color and/or background, you basically tie their hands to be effective in the classroom. No human, regardless of background or training, can negotiate every single implied ( an often non-existent) bias he/she has, especially in a class of diverse students. Should they carry a “checklist” of the different races/backgrounds etc and what does and doesn’t help them learn and consult it every time they want to do anything? Isn’t that racist in itself? Isn’t it better to approach students as individuals and get to know them and allow them to get to know the teacher?

Sorry, I digress into common sense and humanity.

She goes on to describe how we haven’t taught Black History, how the textbooks are flawed. ( Which, by the way, is weird because I was told the system doesn’t use textbooks, but online platforms. These are easily adaptable.)

I’m not sure, but in my years of teaching, Black History was definitely not only taught but highlighted.

It seems to me that Dr. Griffith is falling back on the old one liners that have been around since the 80’s. The avoidance of Black History is one. The second is something she cited as a reason for diversity training. She used the example of some cultures’ children being taught NOT to look adults in the eye when speaking. Kelly, that example has been used ad nauseum since the 90’s. Are you telling me that all the years of diversity training has not made teachers aware of that? Even worse, are you telling me that you have teachers out there demanding that students look them in the eye aggressively regardless of the fact that you have trained them not to? Not very effective.

It’s good to hear her say that the system is teaching students to think critically, to be active listeners, and see both sides. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence again tells me that is either not happening or it is not effective. Employers tell me that they have young workers, school aged or recently graduated, who not only don’t listen to the opinions of others, but shout them down or wish death on them. Yes, it happens.

Maybe that’s because their adult role models, such as the Board of Education and even the County Council, are not very skilled in actively listening and seeing both sides.

Parental Involvement in their child’s education Here’s where the rubber hits the road. While Dr. Griffth wants parents involved, she doesn’t think they need to be “intrinsically involved” in educational decisions. I’d like to know how she defines “instrinsically involved.” Does it mean that parents should be shut out of decisions that directly impact their child and what their child learns?

She mentions the Superintendent’s Advisory Board which is allegedly involved in giving parental feedback to the administration. For the life of me, I can’t find ANY information on who this group is, what they do, how often they meet and how they are selected. Neither can many other people I know. If anyone does know, please enlighten me.

She talks about parent representatives on decision making groups for curriculum at the state level. So, let’s see, out of all the parents in the state, a few parents are selected to help design curriculum? How are they selected? No one seems to know.

Family Advocacy Alliance Impressive that our group which has only existed for approximately three months was mentioned in this interview. The impression that Dr. Griffith got was that this was a group of parents whose main themes are “what are you hiding from us,” “what are you teaching our kids,” and ” I want these questions answered.” And, these people are really angry.

How does she know this? Well, she saw a video of our first meeting.

Funny thing is, we didn’t video that meeting, or any of them for that matter. But, someone DID video it. They didn’t tell anyone they were videoing the meeting. They did it with one of those little spy cameras. Hmmmm….Spy camera.

Honestly, if the person wanted to video the meeting, maybe she should have asked, especially if she was sharing helpful information about parental concerns to the school board and Superintendent.

But, that apparently wasn’t the case. You don’t covertly video someone unless you are attempting to catch them doing something illegal, unethical, or damaging. None of the people in our meeting were doing any of that. No, when you covertly video a person you are trying to get them in trouble with someone. Or maybe you are trying to intimidate them from speaking by sharing that video with people who could cause them harm.

All because they stated opinions in public, opinions they could not state in a formal, public meeting because of “Covid restrictions.”

What’s even worse is that the Superintendent would implicitly condone this by viewing the video and then mentioning it in her interview. One wonders who asked for the clandestine video taping, which, by the way, we have not seen. There are rumors, but I’ll leave it at that. Maybe she agreed with their tactics and motive? If not, she can let me know.

The Superintendent has an open invitation to any of our meetings. We don’t hide when and where they are. We’ve had Congressmen and State Delegates show up without express invitation. We let them speak.

That way she didn’t wouldn’t have to view a dishonestly obtained video taken by a hidden camera.She could ask questions, explain what is going on. Using a covert spy camera is just wrong. We are not a government agency or a drug company perpetratng fraud on the American people. We would have happily discussed issues with her. We aren’t hiding anything.

But, we WILL protect our participants from intimidation.

Also, she mentioned “mean emails” from parents. For a person with thirty years in the business, I’m surprised that she would think this unusual. There isn’t an educator alive who hasn’t had “mean” emails from parents. She said they made personal insults and that when she read the email back to the person the person admitted it was mean. Then she asked them to discuss the problem.

Doesn’t ring true to me. Just an observation. Maybe she did.

The final part of the video is Maryland’s plan for education going forward. It’s an interesting picture of all day Pre-K, increased accredidation for teachers, etc. Dr. Griffith mentions the teacher shortage. She never discusses why that might be happening. If she had been at our meeting she might know.

But that’s a topic for another day.

To be clear, I am not calling Dr. Griffith a liar. I am saying that she either believes exactly what she is saying, is saying what is politically expedient, what her lawyer told her she could say, or is locked into her view. We all do that. This is another viewpoint.

Link to the interview in RED.

https://www.newsbreakapp.com/n/0d0n2Cb1?pd=0AUlE8DZ&lang=en_US&s=i0

Before you get confused, I’m not talking about THAT change. Although, Larry would make an interesting woman, sort of a Hillary Clinton type. And I am sure he would look great in a horse blanket or shower curtain mu mu.

I’m wondering why Larry hasn’t made the switch to the Democrat party yet.

Why would I ask that?

Well, aside from his first and second campaigns and a two minute acceptance speech in 2014, Larry hasn’t been a Republican and certainly not a Conservative for, well, ever. So, since he clearly wants to move higher on the government pig trough, it’s weird that he hasn’t switched parties. After all, he doesn’t want to be associated with all us “whack jobs.” You know, the ones who got him elected. ( By the way, that’s what he called us. Look it up.)

Yup, most of us voted for him, not once, but twice. We thought he was a good, decent man who cared about the people in this state. We thought he would change things. He changed things alright, driving this state into a full socialist, authoritarian hell, one of the states losing more people than any other.

But, it was to protect us. And it was under the banner of “bipartisanship,” a word he uses so much he might as well make an official name change, Larry Bipartisan Hogan.

Unfortunately, while he crosses the aisle to help the Democrat/Marxists implement their schemes, he can’t seem to find his way back to our side of the building.

If you live in Maryland, you know what I am talking about.

First, Larry is a liar. He has always been a liar. Not surprising for a politician, but for someone who was a businessman who ran on that identity, it’s a fact that makes what he has done worse that anything a self identified politician could do. Except Biden of course.

When he was first elected, Larry promised us so much. Lower taxes, better law enforcement, improvement of our cities, etc. He didn’t do any of that. The only thing he ever did was lower bridge tolls. Congratulations. Nice but not that big a deal.

We gave him a break. After all, he was fighting a legislature that opposed everything he did. We knew that. We just didn’t know that he would be such a coward in the fight. Some say that’s not fair because he was diagnosed with stage three cancer at the beginning of his term. Certainly, a daunting roadblock in his way.

But even after he was through his treatment, Larry didn’t do anything. Really, he did nothing to fight back. And, when others tried to support him by fighting back FOR him, he stabbed them in the back.

Then two things happened that jacked him up and got him moving. Donald Trump and then Covid.

I have never seen a so called Republican turn on another Republican so fast as Larry turned on Trump. One day he was thanking him for his help, the next day he was doing everything he could to fight him. I think the only thing he could have done that would be worse was to publish a picture of himself holding Trump’s severed head.

One would think that Hogan would have identified with Trump. After all, they were two “outsiders,” two businessmen who broke into public office. Something must have happened. Did Trump hurt Hogan’s feelings somehow? Didn’t he kiss Larry’s ass or tell him he was the prettiest governor at the fancy ball?

Did he hinder Larry’s skimming from federal funds for his own land development plot or put a stop to Hogan’s real estate business making money off decisions made by various government entities that he influenced? Or profiting from the 1.97 million dollars for highway construction, which, strangely, seemed to go through Hogan owned properties. Did Trump see through Larry? Or maybe Larry just had an inferiority complex. He is kind of a diva.

To this day, Larry is still fixated on Trump and insults anyone who supported him.

Then there was Covid. Larry saw his chance. After a planned two week shut down of every business and job he deemed “non-essential,” Larry sensed that this was his opportunity to come out of the shadows and make a name for himself. So, with little disregard for the small businesses, he took on his role as “dictator” with great pomp, circumstance, and glee.

They went broke. He and his staff got paid.

He raced to every news show patting himself on the back, praising himself, and basking in the glow of unearned praise. He wrote a book, right after he told us all to “wear the damn mask.”

Not a humble man our Lord Larry. He wants to run for President. Or maybe Senate. If all that fails maybe he could do ads for Subway or become a professional Hillary impersonator.

Recently, he is ramping up the rhetoric. As I alluded to, he is calling all of us who supported Trump, “fringe whackos.” He seems to forget how much he loved us in 2014. He calls a candidate for Governor, Dan Cox, a “Q anon whacko” because Dan got an endorsement from Trump. Something Hogan could never get. Jealous Larry?

Don’t worry Dan, being insulted by Hogan is an advantage. We know it means you are the right man for the job.

Here’s the deal Larry, Trump probably recognizes your clone candidate, Kelly Schulz, as just another RINO candidate who will campaign one thing and become what she truthfully if she is elected ( which she won’t be.)Can you say Liz Cheney? She of the turncoat Cheney clan? Same person. Different state.

Not only is his rhetoric getting more radical, but Larry is taking every opportunity to get down on his knees in front of the Biden regime to thank them for the billions of taxpayer funds they are giving him and the state. Larry claims he is happy for the citizens of the state. Surely he has forgotten how little of these funds will actually get to the working citizens, how high our taxes will get, and how it will take decades to pay this back to China.

And perhaps he doesn’t mind that the price is the freedom of our families to decide if their children should be forced into damaging masks or getting vaccines that may cost them their health and possibly their lives.

But, that’s not his problem because he and his lovely wife Yumi will be long gone to some mansion in a tax free state before that shit hits the fan. His children won’t have to deal with mandates because they will get the rich elite exemption.

So you don’t think me unfair, Larry did sort of. grow a set yesterday. He wants to audit the Baltimore City State Prosecutor’s office for “irregularities” in their budget. This is in response to the horrific murder rate in Baltimore, up over 300 AGAIN. It’s a bit late. On his way out, Larry wants to convince people that he really does care. Sure.

Here’s why I encourage to him to come out of the political closet and be his true self. If you think about it, he has learned the Democrat/Marxist playbook well. Pretend you are something you are not, blame your failures on the other party, villafy anyone who doesn’t agree with you, “kill” your past supporters before they wise up or become stronger and better than you, convince the population that you are being a tyrant to protect them, and give tax generated money to people to get them on your side.

Oh, and occassionally throw them a crumb by pretending to solve serious problems like crime in Baltimore City.

Larry is a Democrat but he is cross dressing as a Conservative.

Unfortunately for him, the “crazy fringe whackos” see him for what he is, a fraud.

Maybe he should try a blonde wig and a horse blanket. I’m sure Bill won’t notice the difference.

Deplorable, aren’t I? A “ fringe whacko deplorable” and proud of it.

.

.

I was sharing something with my husband about an author whose book I am reading and I said, ” He’s my new hero.” My husband looked at me quizically and said, ” But he’s a Democrat.I thought you didn’t like Democrats.” I laughed and said, ” Yes, I know, but I don’t care what party you are if you are doing the right thing.”

And this man is doing the right thing. Plus he is putting himself at risk for doing it. He has been deplatformed from social media sites for spreading “misinformation” even though he is stating facts that are provided by scientists, including those at the CDC etc. Doesn’t matter, because what he is saying isn’t what the government and Big Pharma wants said.

His name is Robert Kennedy Jr. and he heads the Children’s Health Defense Network. ( I share the link at the end of this blog entry.) He is also the founder of Waterkeeper Alliance and counsel to Morgan & Morgan, a nationwide personal injury practice. And, of course he is the son of Bobby Kennedy, brother of JFK, former Attorney General of the United States and Presidential Candidate. If you aren’t aware, his father was assassinated in 1968 during his run for President. When I was 13, I got to shake his hand.

In all honesty, Robert and I probably couldn’t be more divergent in our philosophies and interpretation of the world prior to 2020. He is a long time environmental activist fighting Big Oil, King Coal, chemical and agricultural polluters. I didn’t go along with the idea that providing energy wasn’t being done safely. I should have listened to my daughter more, I guess!

In 2005 he got involved in the vaccine debate by looking at how Pharmaceutical Companies were making obscene amounts of money off vaccines that were harmful to so many. Of course, recent events have led him into the fight over the Covid vaccines and especially the damage they do to children.

That’s where our paths converge. I don’t know him personally, and a radio host I listen to always says, “Never meet your heroes, they will always disappoint you.” But I feel as though I do know him from listening to him speak about this cause and from his best selling book, “The Real Anthony Fauci.” And I hope someday we might meet so I can thank him personally for all he has done.

You see, he is a person who tells the truth, regardless of which political party or belief it offends. He is consistent. His family “has had eighty years of deep engagement with America’s public health bureaucracy and long friendships with federal regulators, including Anthony Fauci.” Members of his family wrote the statutes that allowed people like Fauci to have the power they have and for Pharmaceutical companies to be shielded from legal action when their drugs and vaccines cause harm. He even says that he admired these regulators. And then he found out he was wrong.

I can relate. In my educational career, I admired some of the people who are now infecting our children’s minds with the whole “equity” framework which teaches that America is inherently racist and unfair. I was wrong too. I didn’t see it for what it was.

I think admitting that means you have had your eyes opened and you aren’t afraid to see reality.

The book, “The Real Anthony Fauci” is not the kind of book I normally read. As I have said before, I am a big ideas person and prefer delving into arguments rather than data. When I saw that this book was 450 pages, I almost gave up on reading it. But I did.

I was immediatly hooked. Maybe because Kennedy is a litigator in lawsuits regarding the harm done to people by corporations, he is able to combine story with data in such a way that it is engrossing from page one. Every detail is carefully sourced from acclaimed medical professionals and accurate. Plus, there is information in the book that even the most avid researcher about the vaccines and pharmaceutical industry doesn’t know. There are so many connections shown. So much corruption exposed. He obviously inherited his father’s intelligence and commitment to what is right.

Regardless of how one feels about the vaccine debate, this book is a crucial read. It goes beyond Covid and delves into Fauci’s past practices during health crises such as AIDS and how he turned those into his own personal cash and influence cow while destroying the lives of millions. It also exposes the connections he has to others in the industry and how he ruins the careers and lives of medical researchers who create real remedies for diseases; remedies that don’t make money for Fauci and his big Pharma mafia.

And, the book shows that Fauci, a non-practioner, is actually quite inept in solving any outbreak of disease. ( One would think we would all know that by now with all his flip flopping and bad advice, but this book confirms it by recounting all his disastrous actions of the past.)

I’m sure that Mr. Kennedy must be someone that the government, medical and World Economic Forum devotees would love to silence. With his family background, one would think that he would be so afraid of threats that he would devolve into the same drunken stupor of his uncle Teddy. All those years in the Senate and all I remember him for is his bluster, sexual harrassment of women, public drunkeness and how he demeaned the Kennedy name. It was Teddy who convinced me that I would never admire another Kennedy again. *

But, Bobby Jr. took a different path. Without knowing all his history, I can only judge him on what he is doing now. And what he is doing is not only inspirational to those of us who think for ourselves, but heroic in every sense. If you don’t believe me, watch any of his recent speeches or interviews before you get the book. Here is a link to a speech on November 12, 2021: ( You’ll have to excuse the quality of his voice, he actually has a medical condition that causes him to sound that way.)

Robert F Kennedy Jr. Speech Bern, Switzerland Press Conference Nov 12, 2021

But still read the book!!!!

In 1963, his uncle John Kennedy gave a speech in Berlin, which was then divided by a wall that separated East and West Berlin, dictatorship and freedom. It was during the Cold War between the Communist Soviet Union and the United States. Here is the text of that speech, which is often cited as one of JFK’s finest:

https://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/john-fitzgerald-kennedy/ich-bin-ein-berliner-speech-1963.php

In this speech, JFK said, “Ich bin ein Berliner” which means ” I am a Berliner.” It was his way of saying to citizens of both parts of Berlin that we had solidarity with them.

He also made this point: “Real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice.”

This applies so much to what we are going through right now in the world as countries and even states in our country strive to take choice away from people.

Thank God we have Robert Kennedy Jr. demanding our freedom. I can almost hear these words echoing those of his uncle, in German: “Ich bin ein ungumpft.” Roughly translated, ” I am the unvaccinated.”

Like I said, I have a new hero. He’s Robert Kennedy Jr. and I don’t care about his political leanings because he speaks for ME and for my right to be FREE.

Links:

childrenshealthdefense.org

Amazon listing for the book ( but if you can, buy it local!!!!)

* In all fairness, I am sure Ted Kennedy, at some point in his career, did do good things. I just don’t remember why they were.

I have to admit that sometimes public officials just make it too easy. It’s as though they sit around and think of ways to inspire a good old verbal spankin’.

Today is one of those times. It was a writer’s Christmas this morning with two gifts tied up in big bows. Now all we need is some snow and a Lexus commercial.

The first gift I got last night was these pictures:

If you are questioning why these pictures are a gift, it’s because these are screen captures from last night’s Talbot County Board of Education meeting at the luxurious but very small ( limit of 10 public members) meeting room at the Talbot Education Center.

Notice anything weird?

I did and so did a bunch of parents who have children in the school system.

While their kids are forced to wear masks every hour or every single school day, some of these board members apparently don’t have to follow that rule, even though they were the ones who have written very authoritarian and rude responses to parents who questioned it.

A closer look at each picture yields so much information. In the top picture, we have two board members, including the student board member, dutifully wearing their masks. One board member, who is obviously speaking, has his mask all the way down below his chin.

The second picture includes the Vice President and the President of the school board. The VP is obviously grabbing his mask to keep it over his face. The President, the one who once told us that she was vaccinated but she wears the mask to protect US, has her mask down as she is turning and speaking in the direction of the VP. I guess he’s lucky that he has his mask fully engaged because she obviously decided she didn’t need to protect him. Maybe that’s why he is checking to make sure his mask is all the way up.

In the third picture, we have the Board Lawyer with her mask covering her neck while she talks. Obviously, she doesn’t understand the proper wearing of a mask. Germs don’t enter through the neck.

Why did they do this? I don’t know for sure but it could be that they discovered the following; first, no one can hear you clearly through a mask, second, masks are really uncomfortable and restrict your oxygen intake making it hard to focus on your task at hand, or third, masks are disgusting to wear for any amount of time. Germs, you know.

Or maybe they think masks are a total waste of time. We tried to tell them, but the money from the Feds and State trumped common sense.

Since they have the luxury of deciding when they will and won’t keep their masks on properly, they do what they want, even when in a meeting that is being broadcast. (Could we get a ranting letter about that to an online publication? Or would that cause friction at home for the writer?)

Our kids, teachers and other staff at schools don’t have that luxury. Every week I get tons of messages of how children, even very young ones, are being screamed at every time their masks aren’t perfectly placed. We have children being diagnosed with foot and mouth disease daily. ( If you don’t know what that is, it is highly contagious. Victims get a rash and painful red, blister like lesions on the tongue, gums and insides of the cheeks.) This can be traced to mask wearing along with a lot of other health issues such as dental problems, and there is a possible connection to various respiratory infections which are not Covid related.

To make matters worse, if kids are caught with masks down or worn improperly, they will face disciplinary consequences like detentions or suspensions. Some teachers, either out of frustration or just general fatigue of the whole thing, will yell at them and accuse them of not caring if “kids die.” I know parents who tell me their children are “terrified” that their mask will get them in trouble, despite the fact that the Superintendent said they are “getting use to it.” No, Dr. Griffith, they are not. Some of these kids are so anxious about going to school that they have nightmares every night.

Which, I guess is a good thing considering all that state money sent to schools for “mental health counseling.” Government creates the problem and then soaks the taxpayers for the solution. A captive population is the best way to justify wasting money.

Regardless, I think that the Board members who didn’t wear their masks properly should have consequences, don’t you? Since I am a kind person ( yes, I used that word on purpose) I recommend that they be put in detention and made to write this sentence a thousand times, ” I will not support mask policies that are useless for health and harmful to children.”

( Side note: The BOE will probably blame the mask issue upstream to the State Board of Education, saying that the State Board mandated masks so they have to comply. That’s a lie and a cop out. The State Board has NO regulatory authority over the local school boards. And, members of our Board were some of the pro-mask speakers at the State Board meeting on this issue. So, own it. And, as Larry Hogan says, ” WEAR THE DAMN MASK” and I add, “SUFFER YOUR OWN MEDICINE.”)

Speaking of good old Lockdown Larry, he gave me the second gift, another one of his self serving tweets:

Trump cancel culture needs to end. Strong candidates like @DonJBacon, @RepJohnKatko, and @BrianFitzUSA helped close the gap in Congress by winning Biden/Hillary districts while Trump lost the White House. They deserve our thanks, not attacks from a few fringe whackos.

— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) November 16, 2021

There is so much material here in this tweet. I wonder why Larry, who is Governor of a state whose largest city topped 300 murders for the seventh straight year this year, is still so worried about Trump. Shouldn’t he focus on the safety of the citizens of Maryland who live in a city where the Mayor and Council don’t see law enforcement as critical in the prevention of crime? And where the City Prosecutor doesn’t want to prosecute criminals?

But, even if he doesn’t want to do that, can’t he see the irony in him talking about Trump cancelling culture? I think Larry might be the king of cancelling culture. Here are his accomplishments. He shut down an entire state economy without so much as an acknowledgment of the hardship and ruin to small businesses and millions of workers across the state. Meanwhile, he and his merry band of state advisors and state employees still got paid. And let’s not forget big businesses which were deemed “essential” to the detriment of other, smaller companies. He forced the shut down of schools creating a situation where parents could not get child care and had to stay home and students lost years of academic progress.

He even blocked people who spoke out against this on his PUBLIC Facebook page. That actually IS cancel culture. He ridiculed people who questioned his purchase of millions of dollars of FAULTY Korean PCR tests while there were American companies with plenty of tests available. He made a commercial yelling “Wear the damn mask” at all of us like some kind of Marshmallow Man Nanny.

But now, he is upset because some of his buddies and clones aren’t getting an endorsement from a man he has told us he hates! ( BTW Larry, that’s not cancel culture by definition, it’s making a political choice not to support RINOs like you who are excited by taxing our country into oblivion!) And, just in case you were wondering, Lar, there are over 75 million of us “fringe whackos” you talk about. We like to call ourselves CONSERVATIVES. Ever heard that word? Hope you weren’t planning on running for higher office. I don’t think China will be creating votes for YOU. )

( I looked up the people he named in this Tweet. One is running in Nebraska, one in Pa, and one in New York. Mr. Fitzpatrick (PA) touts his strength as “bi-partisanship” and then says he will fight “tooth and nail for our families, for our one Community.” Sounds contradictory.

Katko, NY, is all aquiver about this “bipartisan” infrustructure bill and what it will bring to NY. He voted for it. He likes passing tax burdens on to others in a “bipartisan” way.

Finally, Mr. Bacon is really bringing it home to Nebraskans so they can have rural broadband and millions for roads and bridges there. All on our dime.

More RINOS who are as much of the problem as the Marxists.)

So, time for Larry to be cancelled so he can give his lap dances to Biden and the Dems in private. No one needs to see that.

Speaking of clones, don’t forget the ultimate Hogan clone, Kelly Schultz. Pull the string and Kelly spouts “Larry-isms” like, you guessed it, “wear the damn mask.”

Final Note: The public received notice that Dr. Kelly Griffith will retire as of July 1, 2022. I believe she still had years left on her contract.

For two years we have worried about our school children, rightfully so. I don’t need to go over the burden that has been placed on them either with virtual or live classes, mask mandates, vaccines, etc.. We all know that.

Events in the past two weeks have been a reminder to me that we are forgetting and even blaming one group for all the ills in schools; teachers.

As a former teacher and central office administrator, you may think me biased. While I won’t deny my biases towards those in the teaching profession, I am also one of the harshest critics of those who choose to use the job to manipulate, miseducate, and indoctrinate children.

I have seen the videos of teachers on Tik Tok, on Project Veritas, etc. who are proudly talking about teaching children to hate their country, to become terrorists, to change sexes, etc. I’ve seen the videos of teachers telling children that their parents are stupid, that they need to be vaccinated, and that if they support Trump they are racist. I could go on and on. These people make me angry. They are not teachers. They are collaborators in the abuse of kids.

I’m angry because I take great pride that I was a teacher.

BUT…it’s wrong to judge all teachers by the actions of other teachers or certainly to curse them for the sins of Boards of Education and school and school system administrators. In many cases, the teachers are being abused as much as the children.

Most people don’t understand how the life of the individual teacher can be impacted by the administrators of the schools and the systems they work in.

From the public’s side, it’s a myth that once a teacher gets tenure, they are set for life. While firing a tenured teacher is time consuming and expensive, when a system wants a teacher gone, they can make life miserable for that teacher. Administrators use teaching assignments, non-stop visits to the teacher’s classroom for evaluations ( which suddenly become extremely negative), and sometimes blatant ridicule and bullying to force a teacher to leave. I’ve seen it first hand. One would think the Union might prevent that. They don’t.

And while we are talking about Unions, there is a myth that the unions truly represent what teachers want. It’s a lie. For example, the unions in several Maryland counties are asking for an extra day off before Thanksgiving and even additional days off throughout the year so teachers can “recover” from stress. Like everyone doesn’t need extra time off for that this year, right? Some teachers might like this, but many just want to stay at work.

In my experience, the teacher’s unions haven’t represented the teachers in at least 20 years. Like many other unions they have become money laundering political action groups for those in government. And, the people at the top line their pockets by skimming off the dues of the membership. They have elections, so you would think that teachers would elect new leadership.

What have we learned about the integrity of elections, especially when the group in power wants certain outcomes? Enough said.

So, the teacher’s unions lobby for ridiculous concessions that infuriate the public, and then blame it on their membership, many of whom have no idea what is happening. Union leadership has a tin ear for the true plight of students and families while promoting the failed policies of lax student discipline, mandates, etc. that were initiated during the Obama Presidency and are back in force now. ( If you haven’t heard of these, read “Why Meadow Died” by Andrew Pollack. ) Unions frame these failures as “what teachers want and need.”

So, we have the idiot teachers on Youtube and Tik Tok and the Unions pushing the boundaries of what the citizens will accept, and teachers look like the bad guys.

The reality? Teachers are under attack both in our country and in our county as much as our children. More and more, teachers are being coerced into indoctrinating their students instead of teaching them the academics and life skills they need. Staff training no longer focuses on learning proven strategies to best teach with, but with shaming teachers by telling them that they are the problem because they are a certain race, a certain demographic, etc. They are told that certain children cannot learn and that expecting them to is racist.

Conversely, Teachers are forced by administrators to pass students even if those students cannot or will not complete the work required for competency at that grade level or subject. I know because they told me to do the same during my last years. The message was clear, either have a certain passing rate or get a bad evaluation. It’s all about appearances, not the truth.

It’s a no win situation for the teacher that is not only frustrating, but demoralizing.

Today, I hear that many teachers want to leave the profession. I’m not talking about those close to retiring, though there are plenty of those who are getting out. And these are good, even great, teachers. You would think it might be about Covid. It’s not. The mandates don’t help, but the main issues are fear and frustration, both of their bosses and even the children.

In my career, there were very few times I felt afraid of students. Not when I taught middle school or high school. Certainly not when I taught elementary school.

That’s no longer the case. Across the county, state, and country we have elementary kids physically attacking teachers, cursing them out and even bringing weapons to school. Middle school kids engage in fights on a weekly basis, and high schools are reporting physical attacks, destruction of school property, and even sexual assaults. In the midst of this, teachers are supposed to keep quiet while the administration sweeps it all under the rug. They are expected to teach in impossible circumstances.

You would think that the county and school administrations would support teachers, address the problems, make sure offending students have consequences and ensure that schools are safe. If only.

Sadly, school administrations either ignore the complaints and plight of teachers or they simply give them lip service. In some cases, teachers who report problems are actually harassed and targeted for telling the truth. Even those who have tenure.

Teachers report what is happening and the Superintendent, Principals, and Board of Education DO NOTHING.

You see, in most systems, the most important thing is to circle the wagons and protect those in power, even when they fail to do their job either by design or incompetency. The motivation is money in the form of federal and state grants, millions of dollars given under certain conditions. The conditions required are the very ones that allow violence, racist teaching, and lack of academic standards. They are built into the grants.

But, as I have said before with the Covid mandates, the money is the most important thing and our children are the collateral damage of greed and desire for power.

What I haven’t mentioned is that many of our teachers are also the victims of these government bribes. The administrations are unwilling to admit it and protect them. The unions actively turn a blind eye to it.

And the public is unaware of it.

Most teachers only want to do one thing, and that is teach our young people so that they can have good lives. Many of them live by this quote:

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” -Forest Witcraft

Ask yourself, what do we do if all the teachers that believe this are gone?

It’s time to fight for them too.

A friend of mine recently sent this out to an email list of hers:

The letter is self explanatory.

She captioned the email with a suggestion to parents that they needed to be aware of this and that this was something many of us predicted.

Immediately, she received an email from someone in the email group that admonished her because she was “trying to stir things up” when clearly this was a mistake by the school system and not the school willfully vaccinating this child without parental permission. The person was upset that my friend would do that. Again, she didn’t like that this could stir people up.

Ummmm, wait a minute. Is it wrong to stir people up about something that happened in one place and could happen in many places? In light of the experimental, not fully tested nature of this vaccine, I say “no.”

Mind you, my friend did not share an untrue story or statement. After researching the incident myself, it was exactly as she portrayed it. The school apparently was giving the vaccines when a student told them her parents didn’t want her getting it. Unfortunately, this student had the same name as another student whose parents HAD given permission for the vaccine. The school did try to verify by calling the child’s parents, but they called the wrong parents who said they had given permission. And so then, the child got the vaccine.

Does this excuse anything? Not at all.

First, if you are a school and you KNOW there are two children with the same name in line for the vaccine, wouldn’t you take EXTRA care to make sure you had the one whose parents had given permission, especially when the child said her parents didn’t want her to get it? Especially when you KNOW how volatile the current climate is?

Oh, but they called the parent, right? Again, did they call BOTH sets of parents? Common sense might tell you that if there are two children with the same name that you might have called the wrong set of parents and you might want to call the other set of parents. Certainly, you wouldn’t stop with just the first phone call. But, nope, they got one approval and they were off to the races.

So, we’re left with several explanations. One, the school is staffed by the dumbest most careless people on the planet. Two, the people doing the vaccinations had no knowledge of the students they are vaccinating and no one is there to do any verification/identification. I guess that falls under “careless.” Maybe it was lunch time and they wanted to get this done so they could go chow down on Big Mac.

Or three. Maybe they actually DID do this on purpose. Why? Remember, the people doing the vaccinations are more than likely vaccine devotees. They probably wish that this was mandated so they could put this crap into the bodies of every human on earth. Maybe they ascribe to the Terry McCauliffe cult of school management, the one that says parents have no rights to say what happens in schools. You know, what happens at school stays at school.

None of those explanations should make parents feel comfortable with what is going on in school based vaccination centers.

If it was a “mistake” and played out the way it did, it’s just as bad as if it was done on purpose. It shows us that the mere fact that this is being done to children in a wholesale fashion makes it a guarantee that children will be vaccinated without parental permission and, even more terrifying, without the knowledge of a child’s medical history. His allergies, conditions, etc. Schools are not doctor’s offices and they don’t have these things on file. It’s a recipe for horrifying disaster.

As I used to tell my children, whether it’s an accident or planned, if a person dies they are just as dead. Ask the families of victims of drunk drivers. Or a person killed when shot by a famous actor on set.

And, if the person doesn’t die but lives a lifetime of disability, it’s not better.

It’s entirely possible that the person giving the shots at the school is so brainwashed about the needs for the vaccine OR makes so much money for each shot given that they gave a less than honest attempt to actually verify that the child’s parents consented. The child tried to tell them.

You get to pick the explanation and then you tell me why parents shouldn’t be “stirred up” about this.

If you are for the vaccine, fine. Then this should be confirmation that you should consult with your child’s pediatrician about getting the vaccine and get it in the doctor’s office, under the supervision of a true medical professional and not some newly hired temporary “vaccinator” paid by the school system/local health department under a federal grant. A temp who isn’t even sure who your child is and whether you want them to have the vaccine or not.

So, yeah, parents need to be stirred up. Not sorry if that offends someone.

My friend, being a much better person than I am, issued an apology to all on the list that she may have inadvertently misled them. I know why she apologized. However, I am retracting that apology for her right now. She didn’t mislead them at all. She told the truth.

And we should never apologize for that. Especially when our children are at risk. PARENTS NEED TO KNOW IT CAN HAPPEN.

Here’s a link to an article about the incident:

An Elementary School In Southern Maryland Mistakenly Vaccinated The Wrong 6-Yea

Also, here is a letter another friend of mine wrote to his child’s school ( names and details redacted but you will get the gist of the letter).

Dear ( Administrator’s name),

A very unfortunate accident occurred in Calvert County this week whereby a student was given a “vaccine” by mistake and without parental consent at a school vaccine site.  I have attached a copy of the official correspondence documenting this mistake.
On (date), (school, system name) sent out a memo to all parents and guardians stating, among other things, that the ( name) school(s)and other institutions have scheduled vaccination clinics to make the vaccination process more convenient.
My spouse and I are against the covid 19 mRNA gene therapy treatments, which are being called vaccines, and we will not allow our kids to be given these experimental drugs.  *We do not give permission, implied or otherwise for our child to get this treatment/vaccine.

In the abundance of caution, we ask that we be notified well in advance of any vaccine sites being established at (school or system name) so we can make sure that our kids are not in school those days.

*Please call if you have questions.

*I added these sentences.

This is not a suggestion that you use any of these statements or this document, you have to do what is right for your family. We are NOT lawyers and are NOT giving legal advice on this matter. You should consult with your attorney for his/her advice before drafting and sending a letter like this to your child’s school or district.

Three years ago there was a video of a squirrel obstacle course that a young NASA engineer, Mark Rober, created in his yard. You see, Mark had purchased bird feeders for his yard so he could enjoy the birds. He found out something that everyone who does this knows, squirrels will find feeders and they will empty them quickly, often before a single bird can eat there. So, he bought “squirrel proof” feeders hoping he could stop them.

He found out that squirrel proof feeders don’t work.

So, he took this problem into his own hands. He created a “squirrel obstacle course.” At first it was just a few obstacles that he thought would work. They didn’t. He added more. They didn’t work either. He added obstacles that would scare the squirrels, toss them into the air, and even force them to walk a tightrope. As he continued, he realized that no matter what he did, squirrels would overcome his attempts.

Suddenly, his problem with squirrels became entertaining. It became a challenge. So, he designed many obstacles and created a video about the squirrel obstacle course. It was a huge viral hit. It made him, and the squirrels somewhat famous.

There was a simpler solution. He could shoot the squirrels, poison them, etc. But he didn’t want to do that. As he said, squirrels have to eat too and it’s not their fault that they are crafty and clever. And it took him to a very entertaining and fun solution. The “squirrel-ness” of the squirrels made them smart, creative, and relentless. And interesting to observe. And, yes, they did eat.

As a young teacher, I was like Mark was at first. I taught middle school and what frustrated me the most was that no matter what I did, there were some kids who simply could not conform to the behaviors I wanted them to conform to. They couldn’t sit still, couldn’t stay quiet, etc. They weren’t bad kids, just active.

As most educational professionals at the time, I labled them “ADD” and suggested to their parents that medication might help. It would certainly would make my job easier.

What a horrible thing to suggest. I realize it now. I didn’t back then. Too young, too impressionable. Thank GOD I wasn’t able to prescribe drugs for them!

At some point in my career I realized that the active kids weren’t the problem. The problem was that I was trying to take an energetic, vibrant personality and turn it into a quiet, calm one. And, by doing so, I was ignoring all the wonderful attributes that energetic kid had.

So, I tried something different.

Like squirrels, these kids were hard wired to be active and energetic. They didn’t work well just sitting and listening. Most of them were male and most were already on medication which didn’t work and had unpleasant side effects.

I sat down with these kids ( I usually only had one or two in a class at the most) and we made a plan. The plan was this. They could get up, move around the room when they needed to. The limits were that they couldn’t distract others, they couldn’t interupt me, and they had to do his work and do it well. They agreed.

I know what you are thinking. What about the rest of your students? Didn’t they all want to do the same thing. It’s strange, but no. They were perfectly happy sitting at their desks and doing their thing. Different personalities.

I found if I could accept who they were, what they needed, and put aside my idea of what the good student was, we could find a way for them to be successful. I had to use their “squirrel-ness” in order to find their true abilities and talents. Their energy was a strength, not a disability.

Did it always work? No. There are some things you can’t accept as personality traits. There are some kids that I couldn’t connect with that maybe others could. And, there were some kids who didn’t connect with anyone.

Don’t think for a moment that I didn’t have standards or try to teach kids how to channel their energies and tendencies in a productive manner. They had to learn when they can do certain things and when they can’t. It’s a matter of them understanding themselves and how to deal with their idiosyncracies so they can be successful in everyday life.

And it takes trust and self evaluation on both parts. As a teacher I had to recognize my tendencies and weaknesses, and there were plenty. ( I still have some of those same traits!)

Now, my two main points.

There is a group in control of our country right now who call themselves inclusive, liberal and accepting of individual differences. They are anything but. Marxists want everyone to do exactly what they want all the time. In their minds, the individual is someone to be overcome and to restrain. It’s all about the “hive brain” with them. For example, if you have a different political opinion than they have, they want you silenced. If you don’t want to support or take a medical treatment they want you to take, they will ruin your life and the lives of your children. If you don’t talk like they want, act like they want, and think like they want, you are expendable.

If they had squirrels raiding their bird feeders, they would have killed them all. Well, unless the particular squirrels could be used to promote their Communist agenda. Then they would use them and kill them later.

That’s why you see the Marxists courting Blacks, White virtue signaling liberals, Hispanics, the LGBTQ crowd, etc. They will use their differences to further their cause. And then they will get rid of them.

Conservatives are different, for the most part. Conservatives believe in individual freedom as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others or hurt others.

Sadly, though, they don’t use that philosophy in the battle we are currently in.

As we go forward into what I believe is a spiritual battle, we have to understand that not all Conservatives are going to approach the battle in the same way with the same strengths. We also need to realize that each person who joins us in the battle brings something different to the fight. And, while some of the personality idiosyncrancies will drive us all crazy, we can find a way to use their “squirrel-ness” to make our cause stronger.

I’ll use myself as the first example. My strengths ( I think) are my ability to write, communicate, and work with big ideas. But, I often struggle with details and data. I am organized, but I am also stubborn about what I want to do. I do have a sense of humor, but I don’t always know how to keep it ( and my mouth) in check. I’ve learned how to work around these traits, but I warn anyone who wants me to take a data/detail role in a group.

That won’t end well.

In groups I know we have the right mix of people to make things work. We have the detail people, the organized people, the action people. We have people who bring big ideas, who share religious views, who are calm and logical and those who are firebrand emotional.

Who does that sound like?

The Founding Fathers. Yes, this honored group was a collection of various personalities who didn’t always see eye to eye, didn’t always get along, and who could have failed if they hadn’t used each one of their talents for their cause.

Washington was usually serious, but if you ever made him angry watch out. Jefferson was a great writer, but a terrible speaker. He was so shy he couldn’t talk to a young lady he was interested in for over a year. Needless to say, he was quiet a lot. John Adams was one of those people who was so exacting, so critical that he alienated people. He once called Washington “too illiterate, unread and unlearned for his status and reputation.” Ouch. Franklin, well while he was a scientist, inventor, and political genius, he was an exhibitionist. Yes, that kind. Hamilton was a guy who took matters into his own hands. And, if he didn’t like what was going on, he would work to change it, regardless of what others wanted.

Imagine if these men couldn’t accept each other enough to fight together for a new country? What if they had kicked Jefferson out of the group because he was so tongue tied in public? What if Adams’ constant critiques made the group disband?

We would have never had the country we live in.

Conservatives need to remember that as we work to bring our country back from the brink of disaster. Are we willing to abandon the fight over a difference of personalities or leadership styles? I sure hope not.

Because while we are tossing people aside, the Marxists are not stopping their fight. I like to think we can accept people for who they are, let them work with us and then, unlike Marxists, allow them to be part of our success!

Squirrels gonna squirrel. Remember that. Celebrate it. Use it. The Founding Fathers may have fought and squabbled, but they got it done.

We need to do the same thing.

Backyard Squirrel Maze 1.0- Ninja Warrior Course 

By the way, aside from the ads, this video is hysterical!

I was thinking about awards and what they really mean and why they are given.

As a disclaimer, I have been given awards before. Some of them were earned, some might not have been. I don’t know where most of the plaques are for those awards.

It seems that every week we are seeing announcements about public officials getting awards from various organizations, unions, etc. But, what does getting an award actually mean?

In my career as a gymnastics official and coach, I sat on a committee that worked with the age group division of gymnastics competition. That is the level below the international level that you see on T.V. and which has been in the news lately for the evil deeds of one man and the people who covered for him.

In the early 90’s, several members of the committee came up with an idea regarding awards given to competitors at the beginning level of gymnastics competition. Generally, gymnastics competition at all levels gave placement awards, you know, first, second, third, etc. In a large competition, that meant that many athletes went home empty handed. People thought that this was discouraging for the younger athletes, so they proposed a series of awards based on score ranges ( age group gymnastics competition gives awards on scores given out of a ten; for example, a gymnast with a 9.4 score out of ten would beat the gymnast with a 9.35 score out of ten. Ten is the highest they can get. )*

So, under a new award system, there were different colors of ribbons, blue, red, white, yellow, green, etc. each signifying that the athlete got a score in a certain number range. Then, to top it off, they gave the rainbow colored ribbon which basically meant you were there and competed, but didn’t get a score high enough for the lowest level solid colored ribbon.

The idea is that everyone would go away happy, no one would know who came in first, etc.

Of course it didn’t work that way. It didn’t take long for the athletes and more specifically the parents of the athletes to figure out that if they looked at the score sheets after the competition was over, they could see where their child placed in their age group. Of course, these parents kept that a big secret, right? Come on. You know better than that.

And the kids soon lost the appreciation of the ribbons, particularly the rainbow ribbon. We often found them all over the floor of the gym after everyone left. No one took them home for the trophy case.

The truth is that the kids, like the adults, thought this was stupid. They were competing for goodness sake and wanted awards that MEANT something. They wanted trophies for first, second, etc. They wanted to know that they had earned what they got and weren’t just given something for being there.

The same thing happened all throughout youth sports. Remember tee ball where no one was supposed to keep score? Yeah, right. EVERYONE kept score. The “participation trophies” given out in many sports became a focus for scorn and derision.

So here we are in the adult world and the awards flow freely. I find that there are different groups of these awards based on what they mean and why they are given. So let’s look at different kinds of awards.

The first group we will examine are those awards given for actual accomplishment. These awards are based on data, facts, and set criteria. For example, an athlete who is the batting champion in the National division of major league baseball is the one who has the highest average at the end of the season if he has had a certain number of “at bats. ” This year’s winner was Trea Turner who had an average of .328 in 595 at bats. While the value of the batting average can be debated, the parameters of the award are clear. He accomplished this feat and got an award.

Some awards based on accomplishments have parameters but also inject the opinions of others in the award process. For example, again in the MLB, the MVP award considers all the stats in different areas, but in the end depends on the opinions of voters who decide which player was the most valuable to his team. In the end, the selections will be open to debate, but there is an objective component.

There are many other awards that have fuzzier guidelines. These are your honorary degrees from colleges, service awards from community organizations, or named awards like the Roberto Clemente award, again in the MLB, that honor the good deeds, good character of the recipient.

There are awards for doing something for a long time, like a certain job. Lots of corporations give these. And, I guess nowadays, that is quite an accomplishment!

But things are not always what they seem. The honorary degrees are often tied to how much money the recipient has donated to the school. Community organizations gear their awards to people who have been working in the organization for a while and seem to have done good things. “Volunteer of the Year” awards come to mind. These awards are valuable in most cases, but may be more of an indicator of the desire of the awarding body to curry favor or to motivate the recipient to keep volunteering.

Those awards seem nice. Thoughtful. Warm and fuzzy. They aren’t a negative thing, although the honorary degrees seem to me to be a slap in the face of people who actually went to that school to earn a degree. I mean honestly, do you care if I get an honorary doctorate from a college if I didn’t actually go there and become proficient in a skill/subject? Are you going to hire me for my expertise in that skill/subject? Doubtful. They are more of a payback than anything else and possibly a way to get more money or favors from the donor.

There is another category of awards that I call the “Marketing and Political Messaging” Awards. For example, Teacher of the Year awards. Again, disclaimer. I got one of these decades ago.

Let me explain how that happened. I was a good teacher, maybe even great. Teacher of the Year? I’m not so sure. But, my principal at the time wanted me to apply for that. Yes, I said apply.

You see, rather than have the teacher just chosen from a crop of teachers nominated by their schools, teachers had to fill out a huge packet of materials from the state. This packet included giving your philosophy of teaching, your bio, your opinions on several topics, and some student/parent/colleague recommendations. The first year I applied I didn’t get the award. I was told that my ideas were great, but the packaging, the glitz, the glam just wasn’t there. I needed better visuals, a prettier package for my documents.

Are you kidding me? Think about what I was told. Imagine running a hundred meter race and then being told that even though you were the fastest, your apparel for the race wasn’t pretty enough so someone with a prettier outfit won.

The next year I submitted the same materials. This time however, I was helped with presentation, editing and messaging. I needed prettier graphics and definitely a few phrases about the glories of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. I was marketed more.

I won for my county and made it to the top five for the state where the winner of the State Teacher of the Year won because he had big fish tanks ( like HUGE ones) where he taught the kids how to raise fish to be released into the wild someday. He was also very cool looking with his jeans and pony tail. Apparently the big push in the state that year was sustainability and the environment. Who knew?

I didn’t begrudge that guy his award. Well, maybe a little. Where was I supposed to come up with an aquaculture program?

In the long run it was a good thing I didn’t get State Teacher of the Year. That would have taken me out of the classroom for a year while I traveled about promoting the U.S. Department of Education initiatives. God works in mysterious ways! I might have had to go to the White House and meet Bill Clinton. No thanks!

Let me be clear, I don’t know what the process is now for this award. I am not saying that previous and subsuquent teachers of the year didn’t deserve it. Most of them deserved it WAY more than me. ( Did I mention that I got the award the year BEFORE they got a car? Timing.)

My point is that sometimes the awards are not a direct result of what skills the recipient has or how well they apply their craft. The whole point is lost in a fog of promotion.

I believe that there are times when people get awards to strengthen them politically. Think about it, do you REALLY think that Barack Obama deserved a Nobel Peace Prize less than a year into his presidency? Other than getting elected and being youngish and half black, what had he done for world peace? Clearly, the Nobel Peace Prize people had an agenda in mind and that was to make Obama look more accomplished than he actually was. Even people who supported him were mystified.

He will always have that on his resume from that point forward and he can cite that to give himself even more credentials than being President for eight years. People who weren’t adults during that time will never know the difference.

To be fair, he’s not the first political figure to be shored up by phony accolades. JFK comes to mind. Yes, he was promoted by his family. The book, “PROFILES IN COURAGE?” He didn’t actually write that. His accomplishments in the World War II, while amazing, were embellished by his marketing team. Yes, he was brave. All men in World War II were brave. They made his situation more extreme with a few tweaks of the story. Again, promotion.

We can probably create a long list of politicians and celebrities who have been given awards without deserving them. One big old turd in the middle of the list was Obama giving Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Honor. Here is the rationale Obama gave: ” To know Joe Biden is to know love without pretense, service without self regard and to live life fully.” Does that include sniffing various women and young girls? Skinny dipping in front of female Secret Service officers?

Obama went on, ” for your faith in fellow Americans, for your love of country and for your lifetime of service that will endure though the generations. ” So much material here.

Love of which country? Would that be Russia or China? Who paid Hunter more?

And that “enduring through the generations” thing? Sadly, that is correct. Once this senile fool is done, future generations will live in a socialist, one world order hell punctuated with extreme debt.

Remember that Obama once said, ” If anyone can f*** something up. Joe can.” Was effing it up in the description of the Congressional Medal of Honor? Who knew?

The meaning of the award is lost because it was given for reasons other than the original intent. Not only that, the award is cheapened. If I had received that award for actually doing something, I think I might throw it away once Biden got it.

(While we are discussing intent, think about this. If I promise you a gift card if you do something and you really want that gift card so you do what I ask, what does that say about what I want you to do? If what I wanted was such a good thing, a gift card would not be required. And if the action could be harmful, what does my promise of a gift card say about me? Especially if I make the offer to children to get a potentially harmful vaccine? Think about it. )

Okay, let me get back to the big point of this blog, awards and their significance and purpose.

As I said when I started, a local official is given an award. It’s an award voted on by other officials in the state. No criteria for the award is given, but the description of why this person gets this award is clear. The person did their job and didn’t appear to totally muck it up. (I’m paraphrasing.) I’m sure this included doing exactly what the person was told to do by higher authorities with financial incentives including a six figure salary and millions in state grants.

Would anyone ask random constituents of this official about their performance? Probably not.

Honestly, getting an award for doing what your job says you should do and what you are told to do, isn’t that kind of like getting a job recommendation from a previous employer which says, “the person was breathing and worked here”?

Then, let’s imagine that this recipient had instituted policies that required others to do something like, oh, wear masks all day long? But, in the picture of the award recipient being honored they are surrounded by unmasked, not socially distanced people.

By the way, I am purposely being vague. If you figured that out you get the Smarty Smart Reader Award.

The bottom line is that while I might congratulate this person for their award, I want people to understand that awards are not always an indicator of what is true and accurate about a person’s actual performance. And after a while they don’t even mean anything to anyone, even the recipient.

Although, awards can be used as a shield. A shield against criticism. A shield against questioning.

A shield against getting fired. Who fires someone who just got an award?

I wonder though. Wouldn’t doing the right think be a better shield? Or be at least a reason to be able to go to sleep at night knowing you did what was best for others?

Personally, the plaque I got for Teacher of the Year is in a box somewhere. First of all, I had to stand next to Parris Glendenning to get it. Yuck. No one wants to be reminded of that! Second, the real rewards I get now from my teaching career are the kids, now adults, who I taught who remember me, thank me, and who are now successful. They mean much more than a dusty plaque.

But, what do I know.

Information you may not know and don’t care about:*This is unlike our current international gymnastics scoring system which was created in the early 2000’s. It’s called “open ended” scoring and is a bit complicated to explain. Let’s just say that gymnasts are judged on the value of the tricks they do based on the rating of the Federation of International Gymnastics. The ten comes into play as the the second part of the score, which is about how WELL the athlete performed those skills.