School Board Campain '26. Sigh.

 I apologize for cross-posting. I've also placed this on my campaign Facebook page.

 

My new comments on my old ('24) statement are in [brackets] and 𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙙.

 

I think that the current board has ceded its authority to the superintendent with the resolution of September 26. I find that document to be a combination of the outrageous and the ridiculous. Any time that simple human courtesy and politeness must be mandated, there is simply no respect on the part of either party for the other. [𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬.]⁣

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I have the experience necessary for efficient and effective board meetings. I served on the board from 2000-2006 and was the president of the board in 2005. I am certified by the Arkansas School Boards Association as a Master Board Member, exceeding the required training by some 50-odd hours of training. I know the district's history and culture. [𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.]⁣

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I am, and have been, a staunch supporter of the Little Rock Education Association. I opposed the “end around” that was used by the Walton education group to experiment with performance pay in the district in the early 00s. I was one of the two votes against the program. At the time, I didn’t think of their efforts as union-busting, but an effort by an archly conservative group attempting to woo the largest district in the state into joining their business-forward approach to education. My wife was one of the “Little Rock 69” and I vigorously supported her in what was a very nerve-wracking few days. [𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙝. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.]⁣

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I ardently oppose the LEARNS Act and the Ballinger Act. I will urge the board to pursue legal remedies to these efforts to destroy public schools. There are state and US constitutional questions that need to be addressed. On the issue of public employers not being allowed to negotiate with a union, I hope that the LREA might join the district in pursuit of the rights of the board and the union to free speech and free association. [𝙇𝙍𝙎𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙉𝙎 𝘼𝙘𝙩.]⁣

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I understand that learning requires a safe environment, for both students and teachers. But, we can’t make changes or know what to change without some light being shined on the situation. I will call for a monthly report of security calls, police calls, and arrests in our schools. I will also ask for a monthly report detailing theft and vandalism of district property. Once those reports begin to come in, it will most probably become clear where we need to put safety and security efforts. [𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 "𝘼𝙗𝙧𝙚" 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠.]⁣

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A clean environment, while not essential, is preferred by all of us. I know that for some schools this is not a problem, but for others, it is. This is just an example of the district’s long-time situation: some school get a lot, and some school get a little. [𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩 (𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘-𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚) 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨. 𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 '𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.']⁣

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Directly related to the above paragraph, I think we have to re-think our curriculum, as much as the state will allow. Former board member Dr. Jim Ross has said on several occasions that the LRSD has failed African-American students for 70 years. I whole-heartedly agree. I think that it goes a bit further than failure: the LRSD has betrayed African-American students through repeatedly buying ed programs that not only cost money, but don’t work. The salesmen of these programs tout their records of success. I am of the opinion that those programs did work at the right school, with the right teachers, and with the right students under the right circumstances. I know that there is no cure-all. But I will strongly support curriculum reform aimed at making ALL students college-ready at graduation. I know that many graduates will not attend college, but making them ready for college will not hurt them as they pursue employment and careers. If you have questions about how this can be accomplished, I recommend that you look at Bob Moses’s Algebra Project and similar initiatives. [𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙜𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤-𝙙𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩.]⁣

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𝙈𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 '24. He is no doubt, an honest man who wants to make the district better for all. However, he immediately cedes the education side of the board’s oversight to the administration. That is a mistake. The administration needs strong leadership from the board on all facets of oversight. I am not suggesting that the board meddle in teachers’ business. I am saying that something different has to happen because we are continuing our betrayal. [𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣-𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 (𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚) 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙪𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮-𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜.]⁣

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Most of you have golden memories of your own public education. But that era, real or rose-tinted, is not where we are. I dare say that most of the LRSD’s graduates of the last 40 years do not have those sorts of warm fuzzies that many of us have about school. I am not suggesting that we try to create situations that will lead to lovely nostalgia. I’m suggesting that we create an LRSD where the graduates look back and know that they were given their rights and were exposed to the best work that the board, admin, and teachers could do. I want LRSD to create an environment that gives all students the tools they need to students achieve their highest aspirations. [𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝.]⁣

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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚 $15,000 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨, 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 4 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮. 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚, 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙒𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩, 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.⁣

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𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙨, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 "𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚." 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 5-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙉𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 '24. 𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 9-𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 5-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 7-𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 4-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙨. 𝙎𝙤, 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙.⁣

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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 3, 2026, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.⁣

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𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 (𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠). 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙕𝙤𝙣𝙚 4.⁣

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𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

 

 I apologize for the leading. My HTML-fu is weak.

Some thoughts for Banned Book Week (September 22-28).

As you may know, I served on the Little Rock, Arkansas, School Board from 2000-2006. During that time, I don’t recall their being a book banning fever in the US. I’m currently running again for the School Board.

The media frenzy in 2023 over banned books and Moms for Liberty (MFL) seems to have abated somewhat. However, slipping from the public eye can be a blow to free speech advocates. Our watchword should be “vigilance.” They haven’t gone far.

Banning books is not only in violation of the free speech guarantees of the US Constitution, it is antithetical to the Jeffersonian ideas of education and citizenship. Jefferson urged free, public education in order to instill in citizens the ability to reason critically about the public issues of moment in order to render an unbiased judgment at the ballot box. How can people have an idea of the appropriate or inappropriate nature of a book without reading that book from themselves? The MFL crowd seem to think it’s easy; just listen to them.

MFL argues that they are protecting not only their children, but yours as well; so what’s the problem? Unfortunately, telling the first truth: “I do not want you to protect my child” makes you come off as unconcerned about the MFL’s issues. And, you probably are. Unconcerned, I mean. My mother never policed my reading, and I, on only one occasion policed my daughter’s. She was about 10 and very much into manga and picked up a book from the CLAMP studio. It was that goofy kind of manga porn that passes as erotica: a robot, modeled to appear as a human female had an on/off switch in her vagina. I just took the book from her and told her it wasn’t for kids her age and that she could read in later on down the road. In all honesty, I don’t know what happened to the book (this was 25 years ago), and I don’t think she ever read it. But, I could wrong because by the time she was 12 I figured she could handle anything on her own. And that she would ask questions if something was troubling her.

And, here we come to the second truth: “Just because you and your kid aren’t close is no reason to take books out of the reach of kids who want to read them.” When I was around 11 or 12, I read one of those teen advice books (for the life of me, I can’t remember or figure out which one). I read it for the titillation; I hid it from my mother. But over the next few weeks, I felt her out on some of the topics, asking vague questions that she answered. The book was an excellent way to get me some of the answers from my mother to questions on petting and sex; which is what the MFL crowd wants: them giving information to their kids in what they feel is the proper time and place. If you’re honest with your kids, they’ll be honest with you.

And, speaking of honesty, we come to the third truth: “You hate and fear people different from yourself and you want us to hate and fear them, too, so you’ll feel safer.” The ground-level, organized book banners are not interested in banning books. They are interested in banning people who frighten them. And, in addition to the obviousness of this statement, there is a subtle aspect. Look at the authors of the books they want banned. Yes, yes, many of the authors are LGBTQ+ folks, so, as I said, it’s obvious they want those people banned. But, if you do a little digging, you’re going to find that black authors and Jewish authors are over-represented in the author lists that they make. And a great many of the comics they want banned are manga, Japanese comics. We’re just back to the same, old hateful anti-black, anti-Asian, anti-Semitic, white supremacy lies and fear-mongering. And this is one of the reason that anti-intellectualism, anti-public education, anti-free speech, et cetera, just won’t go away. We can’t root out the fear of the other that governs the thinking of too many Americans.

And the fourth truth: “The people at the top of your organization and the people that fund you, don’t give a good goddamn about the issues that drive you; they just want you driven.” The leaders on the right just want to create division by fanning the flames of cultural issues, any of them. And those of us on the progressive side just can’t help but take the bait. And so there are shouting matches at city board meetings and altercations at school board meetings that result in arrests. And the positions of the voters become ossified. And the leaders on the right then do a lot of pointing and claiming justification for the hatred they are attempting to inculcate in the populace.

If you read this expecting arguments against book banning, I’m sorry. Book banning, protesting against gay marriage, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion offices are all a part of the same cloth. On the left, we make arguments based on our beliefs in the decency of people, their ability to reason, and the Constitution of the United States. On the right, manipulators of voters and their duped supporters make arguments based on fear, which denies reason. We can’t change their minds on the details until we can change their minds on the larger issues, and that will still be a long time a’comin’.

 The moment has come when I have to ask for money. I have to have your donations or my campaign for LRSD School Board will die. the maximum allowed by state law for an individual contribution is $3,300 per contributor per election.

The Math Literacy Gap

Stay with me on this, especially you educators. 

The civil rights icon, Bob Moses -- and if you don't know a lot about him, he was the field secretary for SNCC in Mississippi in the early '60s and is as an important figure to the civil rights movement as MLK, just not so well known. Find a biography and read it -- was awarded a McArthur "Genius Grant" in 1982. He used the money to found the Algebra Project. Moses felt that "Education is still basically Jim Crow as far as the kids who are in the bottom economic strata of the country. No one knows about them, no one cares about them" (NPR's Morning Edition August 1, 2013). 

I trust that I don't have to quote the numbers indicating that not only are black students significantly behind white students nation-wide, state-wide, and LRSD-wide, but the white students aren't doing that great either.

The idea for correcting that math achievement gap -- according the Algebra Project -- is to double up on math courses in high school. And, perhaps most importantly, require all students to take Algebra I in the eighth grade. Don't let counselors (who work hard, I'm not dissing them) assign students to non-algebra math courses based on test scores or "soft expectations." There's more to it, encouraging students to talk about math in class, using ordinary, everyday language. Then, through a process called "5-step circular," teachers work with students to systematically move from observation to symbology. No doubt this requires a great deal of professional development for teachers, but if it works like it has in some schools...

The Algebra Project has a newsletter here: https://algebra.org/newsletter/

If you google "math literacy strategies" you will see too many links to articles that suggest applying the methods used to teach reading to mathematics. I would like to point out that reading scores are on par with math scores. Using the same strategies over and over and expecting something different is a waste of everybody's time.

So, educators, what is your horseback opinion of the viability of such efforts?

Here's some more stuff: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/61afa2b5ded66610900a0b97/6659f1a0beba12df4a468d40_%20BEYOND-ALGEBRA-REPORT_05312024.pdf

Politics and stuff

I've filed to run for the Little Rock School District Board of Directors. So far, I have only one opponent. He is an investment banker and has already spent more on this campaign than has ever been spent on a Little Rock school board election. He rolled out a professionaly created web site that listed everyone who had endorsed him. They were the movers and shakers of Little Rock. Did you ever notice that it's only the rich who decry class warfare. I doubt I will win this race. He can outspend me on literature, signs, hired door-bell ringers, etc. He seems very enthusiastic about serving. The thing is, he thinks a "hey, let's all pull in the same direction" will resonate with everyone and things will just naturally get batter. He says he'll defer to the administration on matters of education because they're the "experts." He thinks that the job of the board is to provide a vision and direction for the district. He's wrong. Those things come from the community. The board's job is to craft policies that will promote the community's vision. He knows that the board is supposed to keep an eye on the money, and since that's his profession, he'll probably be good at that. I'm smarter than the average bear and I never did understand how it worked; there was something called "7% claw back" that was the real kicker (I may have the percentage wrong; it's been years). His web site touts his education, and it is pretty impressive: high school at Central, undergrad in government from Harvard, JD and MBA from UA-Fayetteville. It makes mine look sorta provincial: Waldron High School in Scott County, BA, BS, MA, all from UA-Little Rock. Yep, he wins that pretty handily. The election is in November. I plan to use the traditional America calendar for elections; I'm only piddling around until Labor Day. For now, I'm going to raise some money for yard signs, a couple of big signs, and a fold-out with my psositions of stuff that will have a cut-out that will let you hang them from door knobs. Many of you know that I am clinically depressed. My mental well-being took a helluva hit when I saw how much money he had spent. I don't expect to win, but I hope that we can work up some sort of debate or panel discussion that will be on a necessarily even commmon ground.

I found a new toy!

 https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

Hypocrisy

 I had thought to start off with "You gotta love Republicans," in the sense that they are pathetic and probably need a hug at the end of each long day of hating.  Then I realized that no matter the bitter laughs they provide me with, they are generally ignorant people who, when engaged in culture warfare, don't think any of it through.

The governor of Tennessee dressed in drag for a high school thing back in the 70s. His defense, as you can see, is that was different from those evil, sexual, obscene drag queens coming for our children. For the life of me, the only difference I can see is that it was him and not a gay man.  For the record, I've dressed in drag more than once.  Never for my own gratification, but every time as a form of entertainment for others.

The unintended consequences of their abortion laws is worse.  We don't get to laugh at these kinds of things (behind the Washington Post paywall, which they let you step over for free for a while). It's simply horrific.  And you know damned good and well that they wouldn't let this happen to their wives and daughters.  No matter the cost, they would see that the women close to them got appropriate health care.  But your daughter or mine?  Fuck them.

And there is no need to talk about the debacle that was Kansas under a "eliminate taxes" governor with a compliant legislature a few years ago.  And the hell of it is, that here in Arkansas, we're about to go through the same hell, bankrupting the state by eliminating income taxes and promising vouchers to take kids to private schools.

No, you don't have to love them.  You have to be sickened.  And you have to be afraid.

By the lights of the Supreme Court,...

 ...it was a bad week to be an oil company guy working by the hour plus a bonus on an oil rig (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/598/21-908/?utm_source=summary-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-02-23-us-supreme-court-efa8b99341&utm_content=text-case-title-1).

...it was a good day to be a capital murderer arguing that federal law applied to his federal. case https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/598/21-846/?utm_source=summary-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-02-23-us-supreme-court-efa8b99341&utm_content=text-case-title-2.

and, finally...If I understand the cases correctly, it was a bad day to be involved in raising and spending the poison fruit of a poisoned tree. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/598/21-984/?utm_source=summary-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-02-23-us-supreme-court-efa8b99341&utm_content=text-case-title-3

We live in a science fiction universe #731

 https://www.space.com/very-large-telescope-photographs-lightest-ever-exoplanet

A Perfect Storm

 This blog used to have, up there in the masthead, the sentence, "I'm so mad I can't think straight." I thought it was funny, but nobody ever laughed besides me, so...

However, this story, in all its glory, has made me to mad that I'm talking like Yosemite Sam.

A couple of days ago, the Washington Post broke a story about a company that sterilizes meat packing equipment employing children in overnight, mostly unsupervised, dangerous jobs.  See here (it's behind a registration wall, but they don't seem to have bombarded me too much for registering, so  I recommend it).  Short version: Department of Labor fined Packers Sanitation Services $1.5 million for child labor law violations.

Turns out (and not even close to a surprise) that Tyson, the giant food processing corporation originating in my home state of Arkansas, was one of the businesses that used illegal labor from Packers Sanitation Services (at Tyson's plant in Green Forest).  Short article here.

The second half of the article from the Arkansas Times gets to the part that is so infuriating.  As reported in the Guardian (here), it seems that the GOP is making a coordinated effort, at the state level, to undermine the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.  And, of course, they don't just want them to work, they want the companies that hire them to be shielded from the inevitable accidents (some that will be fatal) that are part and parcel of hiring young, inexperienced labor.

But why? Is the labor shortage that business keeps squealing about that acute?  Could we finally be at the point where business will be forced to realize that infinite, eternal growth is not possible?  Will every sentence in this paragraph be a question?