Prattling In The Local Newspaper

Recently our local newspaper reported that there had been a change in the election results for a local School Board seat.  While I didn’t know the surprise winner, I certainly fit the description of someone who should  have been solidly in his constituency.  But as with any politician, it’s dangerous to jump on a bandwagon simply because you think the candidate is “one of you.”  And certainly the surest way to get elected here in California, (no matter how good or bad you are), is to somehow link your campaign to the support of teachers, and in a small town like this, by touting your Christian values. So, here’s my take on the whole thing, exactly as I expressed it in a letter to the editor after reading the article.

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Letter To The Editor:                                    

  As a retired CVUSD teacher and Christian, I wasn’t automatically encouraged by the front page news, that the registrar’s final vote tally determined a surprise School Board winner who strongly and unashamedly supports these two constituencies.  (Champion, December 1)  Quoting the article, he said, “(I) will be an advocate for the teachers and emphasize Christian values.  Everything will revolve around the teachers. That’s where my prejudice lies.” 

First of all, coming into any governing body with “prejudice,” closes one’s mind to ALL the possibilities needed to solve important issues.  Secondly, revolving one’s efforts around teachers instead of kids, is backwards.  Kids should come first, even when it conflicts with those who educate them.  And in the end, if it’s good for kids, it’s usually good for teachers, too.
  
 Finally, being an advocate for “teachers” can only be decoded as support of their union, which in other than salary and/or working condition issues, rails only minimally against the smaller but more insidious instructional stresses that actually wear it’s members down, and ultimately burn them out.

As for this new School Board member’s emphasis on Christian values, if he means in the conduct of his daily personal and professional life, that’s great.  But if recent history has shown one thing, it’s that such “emphasis” has too often mutated from personal belief, into a zealous mission to inject religious ideology into public policy, forcing those who don’t agree to conform.  Such a stance would not only be divisive, but an unnecessary distraction from the current educational issues that need fixing.

That said, good luck to the newest School Board member.  I hope that after he’s sworn in and the realities of the job finally hit home, he is guided towards solutions using an open and unprejudiced mind, with sole focus on his greatest constituency, the children he has taken an oath to serve.

Paisano  (December 1, 2012)