It appears my local column, about which I shared here in my last installment, still lives -- for now.
I had an email exchange with my editor, and she apologized for missing one I had sent. She said they are changing some things in regard to "who does what," and "it fell through the cracks." I thanked her and decided not to go into all the time this had happened previously.
Last week's did not run Monday morning, which is my preference, but Tuesday afternoon, and it was not included in morning and afternoon email newsletters. I have a feeling a lot of regular readers didn't even see it. I dared to write about something somewhat controversial and when I do that (which is rare), I usually receive at least a couple of emails.
I submitted a column Friday (yesterday) and asked that it be posted Monday. We'll see.
Since I think some folks missed this one, I thought I would post it here. Although this is about local and state issues, some of these matters are being discussed across the country. You might even be reading about something similar in your area.
(I will definitely post something about the heartbreaking situation in Ukraine in the near future. So stay tuned.)
8 comments:
"I might add, among CRT opponents and proponents, it is difficult to find someone who can adequately define it." I'm so glad to see this statement in your column. I'll admit I find it a complicated topic and one I'm not sure I fully understand. (and I like to think I'm fairly intelligent!!)
There was a time in the past when I was on the losing side of a school issue and I definitely believe there are areas that should be left to school districts and local entities rather than the state legislature. It took me a long time to get past it.
Thanks, Kelly. I have friends who have railed against CRT and think this legislation is necessary to protect us from it. The fact is it has never been taught in our schools. Now we have teachers scared to teach about certain historical topics because of this vague law in place. As for the local school districts, I was on the losing side plenty of times. But I still believed my local school board was better equipped to handle local issues than a state or federal body. Ultimately, in a public school setting, you’re not going to get everything you want. And if something becomes a deal breaker, there are options like private school and home schooling. (Although I realize that is not feasible for all.)
Though it wasn't a direct result of our school consolidation issue, I did homeschool one of mine for a year. Someday I'll tell you more about all that. Ancient history, I guess.
My governor issued a similar edict saying everyone on a local level could decide for themselves. Like you, I could see where she was coming from even though I was in favor of a state wide one temporarily. Where she later lost me was issuing another edict specifying schools couldn’t issue a mask mandate unless the state first had one. She was okay with local rule unless it went against her beliefs. Now she is going to get national attention on Tuesday night giving a rebuttal to the State of the Union due to her example she led for Covid management. I’m not sure I can watch it.
Ed, isn’t that a good example of politicizing the pandemic? I can’t watch it either.
It is a classic example and it wouldn't break my heart for someone from the liberal side of politics to pick up on it and publicize it.
Sadly, being on the school board is not worth the time and effort for the position. Before we left Michigan, my wife had done a term on the school board and it was terrible with some meetings going to 2 AM! Like you, I can't seem to find anyone (outside of academia) who has the slightest idea as to what CRT is, but they sure have some strong opinions about it. We live in a frightening world with Ukraine only being a tip of the ice berg.
It’s very sad that serving on a school board has become so burdensome, no one wants to do it. As I said to Kelly, you will never get everything you want in public education. As it is with anything, however, if opposing sides are willing to listen to each other, there are at times viable solutions. But getting someone to listen these days is a tall order.
Post a Comment