Mr. Racine's Report Card Speaks

(Note: Brenda is aware that I am writing this, but does not know the content. She will be reading it here for the first time.)

Now you guys have gone and done it. Brenda is threatening to pack it in. I’m sure there is a collective sigh of relief from a group of you out there who think she is some crackpot with wild ideas. I would just like you to know that Brenda has devoted a lot of time (with my blessing) to learning as much as she can about our district. Consequently, she has a more thorough knowledge of things going on in this district than, arguably, all of you, and probably most of the board members too.

She is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, and does not put out her opinions without much fact finding and thought. Her opinions are also not set in stone. If someone can INTELLIGENTLY argue with her, and back it up with some actual facts, she is not above rethinking an issue. Although I don’t believe anyone has done it yet. When ignorant people attack her personally, instead of her ideas (as has happened a lot recently on the JT blogs), she gets hurt. She is not an animal. She is… a human being. She realizes that those people need to just be ignored, but that is sometimes easier said than done.

She has been at this for going on about 5 years now. It started when our then 1st grader’s teacher was telling us about the new CP program at a parent/teacher conference. The teacher, by the way, thought it was stupid. Brenda did a few Google searches, and found out what a horrible failure Dr. Hicks’ new QDM had been in other school districts. She did also find examples of where it worked, but not in a district so big and diverse. It should be noted also that the district that Dr. Hicks came from, abandoned this program after he left, I believe.

It was then that Brenda started attending board meetings, and talking to board members. One of them told her that she should go to the library and look at the vouchers, which she did. It has just snowballed from there. Its funny how the more you look, the more you find.

Although the blogging is new, her interest in the schools is not. For the guy who said that she needed therapy, blogging IS her therapy. Without it, she would probably explode. It is funny seeing the speculation out there on why she does what she does. Is it so hard to believe that she is just a concerned parent? All parents should be so concerned.

I guess I should wrap this up. So, Brenda is very discouraged about the general public’s apathy toward our schools, the Superintendent’s apparent (to her) corruption, the gutless (my word, not hers) board that lets him get away with it, and the abuse she is taking for trying to make a difference. She is threatening to say, “F*** it! Nobody else cares, why should I?” I personally don’t think she can do it, but you never know. I would hate to see her stop, it would be a tremendous waste.

I apologize for the length (never thought I would say that), but I thought you, her readers, should know a little background. Maybe I can convince her to give you a more thorough history in the future.

Thanks for your time.