Misty,
It is said there are none so blind who cannot see. The assertions of those who proclaim, as Ms. McQuiston and others have, that this will deprive them of their right to vote (for a superintendent) entirely miss the point. This is indeed about the children, though it would appear those aforesaid now-former children have been victimized by the educational system themselves. Our children certainly have been and are being victimized when greater than 60% of those going on to college require both remedial math and remedial English.
This IS about the children, like it or not. This is NOT about any adult’s prejudices about their right to continue the practices that have failed and that continue to fail our children, one of those being electing a superintendent. This is not about saving money. It is about improving our children’s chances to succeed in life by doing what we can to improve the system charged with providing them with an education and the mental tools to succeed in life for themselves and for their fellow man.
I’m 71 and have no child in school, here or elsewhere. That does not absolve me of the responsibility to try to make this a better place for my fellow man and more particularly for the children of today who cannot speak for or defend themselves, no matter the blindness or selfishness of the adults who are charged with providing for their welfare, that including their education.
To suggest that advocacy for a change in a failing system is demagoguery is itself at least strongly smacking of that very demagoguery. The people behind this movement are sincere. That quality does not make them right, but it likewise does not make them wrong. Would any care to argue that our schools are doing as well as they might in preparing our children? That they are approaching perfection in the administration of the huge sums of money in their charge?
That 99% of the school districts in this country appoint rather than elect superintendents does not make Walton wrong and nearly everyone else right, but any thinking person should at least pause to consider that maybe, just maybe, Walton might seriously re-examine its position.
Those whom Misty seems to revile as demagogues believe that there is a better way, the protestations of Ms. McQuiston and others to the contrary. Objective measures demonstrate that our schools aren’t getting it done. This is not to castigate the teachers or administration. Would that life were so simple. They are tasked with dealing with the sequelae of the decisions and the actions and inactions of parents and of our legal system and larger government. They have an impossible task as is, and this must change. Those of us trying to evoke discussion and introspection don’t presume to have all the answers, but we do know that serious questions need to be asked and thoughtfully answered. We’re not afraid to do so. Are you?