Restroom/Sports Policy
There is a great deal of attention these days on the real need for a restroom/sports policy that clearly states the district's position as it pertains to student genders.
I agree that this policy is way overdue. I expect work on this issue to be initiated soon after the election of new board members. My research and experiences with the issue have led me to the opinion that the policy should be defined by the biological sex of students as stated on their birth certificates. If the majority of the board is of a like mind with me, it won't take long to put a corresponding policy in place.
If the majority of the board is of other opinions, it may take a while to form a policy. When presented with an opportunity to form a policy, the current board majority chose to not even discuss it. If the new board is willing to consider forming a policy, I will do what I can to ensure it is as wisely formed as possible.
All that said, I hadn't planned to campaign on any specific issues. I expected to focus on the principles I would use to make decisions on the board (see below). But, in the course of my campaign, it has become evident that this issue is of high concern among the community and required a definitive statement.
As I said above, I expect this issue to be done (one way or another depending on the makeup of the new board) soon after the election. At that point, One-Trick-Pony candidates who ran on this one issue will be like the dog that finally caught the car he was chasing, "Now what?". I will have plenty to do, because my decision to run was informed by many-decades-worth of concerns and problems that need to be addressed. There will always be something more to be done while I am on the board.
I agree that this policy is way overdue. I expect work on this issue to be initiated soon after the election of new board members. My research and experiences with the issue have led me to the opinion that the policy should be defined by the biological sex of students as stated on their birth certificates. If the majority of the board is of a like mind with me, it won't take long to put a corresponding policy in place.
If the majority of the board is of other opinions, it may take a while to form a policy. When presented with an opportunity to form a policy, the current board majority chose to not even discuss it. If the new board is willing to consider forming a policy, I will do what I can to ensure it is as wisely formed as possible.
All that said, I hadn't planned to campaign on any specific issues. I expected to focus on the principles I would use to make decisions on the board (see below). But, in the course of my campaign, it has become evident that this issue is of high concern among the community and required a definitive statement.
As I said above, I expect this issue to be done (one way or another depending on the makeup of the new board) soon after the election. At that point, One-Trick-Pony candidates who ran on this one issue will be like the dog that finally caught the car he was chasing, "Now what?". I will have plenty to do, because my decision to run was informed by many-decades-worth of concerns and problems that need to be addressed. There will always be something more to be done while I am on the board.
My Guiding Principles
These will form the grounding on which I base my decisions while in office.
Schools are schools, not parents. Parents are parents.
For many years, the line between parenting and schooling has been blurred and shifted.
From the perspective of the schools, I can speak from experience. Teachers are people who care for the children in their care. When they see what they consider failures in parenting, they are tempted to want to fix them. It always starts with good intentions, but it has brought us to a point where schools are stepping in where they shouldn't.
From the perspective of the parents, I can speak from experience. Parents who were brought up in the school system came to accept the experience as the norm. Small differences when they sent their own kids to school didn't seem like anything to worry about. This cycle is repeated with each generation until their role as parent seems secondary to the school.
It's important for children to understand who is the ultimate authority in their lives. Their parents are the ones tasked with caring and providing for them. Their parents are the ones who should be influencing their belief systems. Their parents are the ones responsible for building their character. Their parents are the ones whose vision for their future should be guiding their education. Schools should be nothing more than a tool for providing that education as best as they are equipped to do so.
From the perspective of the schools, I can speak from experience. Teachers are people who care for the children in their care. When they see what they consider failures in parenting, they are tempted to want to fix them. It always starts with good intentions, but it has brought us to a point where schools are stepping in where they shouldn't.
From the perspective of the parents, I can speak from experience. Parents who were brought up in the school system came to accept the experience as the norm. Small differences when they sent their own kids to school didn't seem like anything to worry about. This cycle is repeated with each generation until their role as parent seems secondary to the school.
It's important for children to understand who is the ultimate authority in their lives. Their parents are the ones tasked with caring and providing for them. Their parents are the ones who should be influencing their belief systems. Their parents are the ones responsible for building their character. Their parents are the ones whose vision for their future should be guiding their education. Schools should be nothing more than a tool for providing that education as best as they are equipped to do so.
The purpose of a school is to educate the students. All else is a distraction.
The purpose of a school is to educate the students. Its purpose is not to graduate the students. It might seem on the surface that these are one in the same. If you educate students, you should graduate students. And that is absolutely true. When you educate first, graduation will naturally follow second.
The problem is when graduation becomes the goal; education becomes a secondary concern. When graduation is the goal, it quickly becomes apparent that there are many ways to get to the graduation that don't involve education. Students have known about this since schools began. Every instance of cheating is motivated by a desire to graduate that is greater than the desire to become educated. Schools have developed a similar motivation. It's easy to judge a school by its graduation rate. It's harder to judge the effectiveness of their education. The motivation to receive a satisfactory judgement can then create a desire to graduate that is greater than the desire to educate.
It's important to refocus on a purpose of education. When people talk about the great schools, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and the like, nobody says anything about their graduation rates. It is not a graduation rate that makes a school great. It is the great job done educating its students that makes a school great.
The problem is when graduation becomes the goal; education becomes a secondary concern. When graduation is the goal, it quickly becomes apparent that there are many ways to get to the graduation that don't involve education. Students have known about this since schools began. Every instance of cheating is motivated by a desire to graduate that is greater than the desire to become educated. Schools have developed a similar motivation. It's easy to judge a school by its graduation rate. It's harder to judge the effectiveness of their education. The motivation to receive a satisfactory judgement can then create a desire to graduate that is greater than the desire to educate.
It's important to refocus on a purpose of education. When people talk about the great schools, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and the like, nobody says anything about their graduation rates. It is not a graduation rate that makes a school great. It is the great job done educating its students that makes a school great.
The first priority of a school is the safety of its students.
In order to accomplish its purpose of education, schools must prioritize the safety of their students. Nobody can learn anything if they're concern for their well-being.
Everyone can agree that students should be safe from outside threats. That's why we have regular drills within the schools and training for emergency services providers. Everyone can agree that no child should be harmed by another. That's why we act quickly to stop fights and bullying behavior.
The problem arises when protecting one student's emotional or mental well-being seems to conflict with protecting another student's, or many students', emotional or mental well-being. When these situations arise, we need to be able to have open and frank conversations about the details of the problem and the possible solutions to reach a conclusion that represents the needs of all involved.
It's important that all students feel safe in their schools so they can feel free to explore and expand their educational boundaries.
Everyone can agree that students should be safe from outside threats. That's why we have regular drills within the schools and training for emergency services providers. Everyone can agree that no child should be harmed by another. That's why we act quickly to stop fights and bullying behavior.
The problem arises when protecting one student's emotional or mental well-being seems to conflict with protecting another student's, or many students', emotional or mental well-being. When these situations arise, we need to be able to have open and frank conversations about the details of the problem and the possible solutions to reach a conclusion that represents the needs of all involved.
It's important that all students feel safe in their schools so they can feel free to explore and expand their educational boundaries.
