Meet the Candidates!

 

A Teacher's Perspective

Inage: The New York Post

 By Gretchen Garrity

I was recently in touch with public school educator, Mr. Kelly Wallace. Mr. Wallace has been teaching for 30 years, and is employed by the Springfield Public Schools. In the following question-and-answer format, he gives his perspective on teaching and the state of education.

Mr. Wallace deserves our thanks for being willing to speak about some of the issues confronting our schools. These issues are also in your local school.

• What drew you to teaching?

I have always enjoyed school and loved my teachers.  My third grade teacher Ms. Nancy Wiser had a huge impact on me.  She was an outstanding person and always cared about me.  This is one of the most important things I believe a lot of teachers forget.  It’s not about the lessons we teach in most cases.  It’s about caring and taking interest in your students' lives that makes the biggest impact.

• How has teaching changed since you first began teaching? Good and bad!

My first three years of teaching would have to be the most difficult just trying to learn how to deal with students. Those first years could be summed up in one word..survival.  I knew my subject inside out and upside down but dealing with students and all the issues they arrive with was definitely the hardest.  After that learning curve took place teaching was a very enjoyable time.  Focusing on the kids first and your curriculum second has always been my thing all thanks to my marvelous teacher Ms. Wiser.

Seeing previous students and having them thank you and appreciate all you have done for them is the greatest feeling in the world.  The connection and what you think are the little things that happen in the course of a school year can have the largest impact on students.

Unfortunately after Covid the discipline issues became so overwhelming to the point I couldn’t even sleep at night and started having terrible anxiety.  I couldn’t think about anything else.  I had all of the previous 25 plus years of teaching to lean on, but mentally it was an absolute struggle.  I couldn’t even imagine being a new struggling teacher at this point.  I was having a hard time keeping it together.  I couldn’t imagine being new to the profession.  Substitute teaching at this time was unimaginable! 

Being mentally worn out on a daily basis will age you in a hurry.  It’s very different than being physically worn out.  It’s almost as if you can’t function when you get home.  You no longer have the ability to turn it off.

• Can you give some contrasts?

The administrators I’ve had the last few years are doing everything they can to keep disruptive students in school.  Unfortunately it’s all left on the shoulders of teachers and other students.

When I first started teaching we always had the support of our administration.  Today it’s like the teachers are under investigation if you send a disruptive student to the office.

• Have kids changed? If so, how?

I won’t be the only one to tell you that we’ve always had problems at school.  The kids have not changed.  What has changed is how we are dealing or better yet not dealing with discipline issues. 

Want proof?  Just check out a school district’s scope and sequence.  I have a laminated copy of my first year 1994/1995 vs today…mind blowing!  What used to get you in trouble 25 years ago now doesn’t even get you on the principal’s radar. Example… a few years ago we were having a terrible problem with students vaping.  Instead of dealing with the problem head on as we should have the district changes the scope and sequence.

• Can you talk a little bit about curriculum? Why are student scores continuing to fall in many cases, despite the large amounts of seminars, continuing education, consultants, and diverse methods that many schools utilize?

Curriculum and the amount of time we spend on it is better than it’s ever been. In fact it can become nauseating we spend so much time on it.  The main reason we are seeing lower scores is the amount of time we are spending on discipline issues versus teaching.  What this causes is a lower expectation for everyone.  We are continually lowering the bar instead of raising the bar.  Example: giving everyone a full quarter to turn in missing assignments.  Students learn that procrastination is fine and turn in subpar work the last few days before the quarter is over when most have forgotten the concept that was presented the week of the assignment.  This is not ok in the real world of work so why is it ok in education? 

• What programs and organizations have you found helpful? Harmful?

This is a hard question.  Surprisingly I’m going to say the NEA can be both harmful and helpful. It’s a double-edged sword.  Helpful in the fact that they care about education and support teachers with insurance and support with school discipline and contract issues that arise, and they do arise.  If you don’t have that support you are on your own which is a terrible place to be. 

On the other hand the NEA supports certain political actions and agendas that do not correspond with my beliefs.  This in turn has made me step away and stop renewing my NEA membership for about the last 10 years.  Imagine being without support in school related issues for the last few years.  Scary is an understatement.  There’s no one out there that has your back. Teachers are human, we do make mistakes and there are an unbelievable amount of false accusations.

• How pervasive is DEI/CRT/SEL and other agenda-driven programs?

Unfortunately these agendas have definitely been presented to us in professional development meetings in the past.  I have personally rejected this nonsense and will never present this to any student in my classroom let alone bring it up.  Definitely not what I was hired to do and if it ever was I would’ve quit a long time ago.

• What do you think about the push to include younger children within the public school system? For instance, there is legislation that wants to mandate a 5-year-old must attend school.

I can’t think of anything wrong with starting the education process early as long as the parent has the final decision. I wouldn’t want any lawmaker mandating anything to me about my child’s early education needs.  What could they possibly know about your child’s education concerns and timing?

• Schools seem to be morphing into a kind of community center, where the cradle to grave agenda is being implemented: free meals, mental health evaluations and treatment, preschool, tele-health, performing arts centers, etc. Have schools expanded their mission at the expense of their original purpose?

Yes…but why?

There’s a larger number of students every year that their basic needs are not being met at home.  Is this something that we want?  Absolutely not, but our number one concern is for the health and well-being of all of our students.  If basic needs are not met at home then it’s really hard to accomplish anything else beyond that.  This is also an answer to your previous question:  Why are student scores continuing to fall in many cases, despite the large amounts of seminars, continuing education, consultants, and diverse methods that many schools utilize?

• Teacher turnover rates are high. What is a teacher's view of the issue?

Not good!  Teaching has become a nearly impossible task and still have a life outside of the classroom. 

You have no energy for your own life outside of work.

This is nothing new or unexpected but you’re broke all the time and have to take on other jobs which almost every teacher does.  This also takes away more time from home.

You don’t feel any recognition.

Many times teaching in a school system does not align with your beliefs.

You feel depressed, angry, not like yourself for all the reasons mentioned above.

• Are you familiar with Burrell?

Yes.  We use them more and more every year.  The overwhelming number of students who need their services is staggering.  I have students who have lost parents or siblings to suicide who struggle unimaginably every day.

• What advice would you give to someone who was going into teaching?

Several years ago we had a teacher who said both of his girls wanted to be teachers.  He told them he would completely pay for their education if they didn’t choose teaching but if they wanted to be teachers they were on their own.  I thought this was pretty harsh at the time but now I’m almost completely in agreement with him.  Teaching has gotten much harder since 94/95.  I’ve spent 30 years in the same school and can honestly say I would never choose this profession if I had to do it all over again.  The good thing I can take with me is I know I have made a difference in several students that I’ve taught over the years but the good hasn’t outweighed the bad I’ve witnessed in the past few.  This is my 30^th and last year of teaching.  The only thing I will miss is my day-to-day interaction with the students.  Once again I will mention my favorite teacher, Ms. Wiser.  I couldn’t tell you one thing she taught me other than she was kind and truly cared about me and sometimes that’s all these kids need.

• What are teachers thinking about school choice? Homeschooling? Micro-schools?

I really don’t know what other teachers are thinking but I do know that I would never put my child in the school that I teach.  I wouldn’t have said that 20 years ago.  In fact some of my family home schooled their kids at the time and I thought it was the craziest thing ever at the time.  Kids learn so much in a public school.  Yes good and bad.  As I said before the bad has definitely started to outweigh the good.  I would never subject my kid to what goes on in the public school that has little or no consequences. I wouldn’t think twice to either put my kids in a private Christian school or home school setting.  Only because both my wife and I our teachers.  Unfortunately a lot of parents don’t have that choice.

• If you could do anything to help schools improve, what would it be?

Stop watering down your scope and sequence to help adjust the numbers to meet the criteria you need to be state accredited.  You are only making the problem worse.

• How could parents help?

Please raise and discipline your own kids.  Stop thinking that the school system was created to do it for you.  Take full responsibility.  Look for solutions and not just a teacher to blame.

If you really love someone, you have to give them the level of discipline they need.  Discipline is the highest form of love.

I believe Ms. Wiser’s philosophy of teaching can be applied to parenting as well….. My parents have a huge impact on me.  They are outstanding and always care about me.  This is one of the most important things I believe a lot of parents forget.  It’s not about the lessons we teach in most cases.  It’s about caring and taking interests in your children’s lives that makes the biggest impact.

 

Looking for Answers?

Do you ever wonder why it takes up to $100,000 to run for an unpaid school board position for the Springfield Public Schools? Do you wonder why violence in schools is on the rise? Why levels of anxiety among students is so high?

 Why are academic scores flat or falling? Why is teacher retention a big problem for school districts? Why do school districts keep asking for more bond money for more capital projects when they don't maintain the buildings they have? 

Do you ever wonder why out-of-town people founded a "nonpartisan" United Springfield PAC in order to get their preferred candidates elected?

Millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake. And more than that, a pernicious agenda that pushes gender ideology, DEI, SEL and CT is working hard to maintain the control grid that usurps parental rights and local school control.

You know something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Here is your opportunity to get answers and solutions. 

Our children and their teachers deserve to be able to learn and teach in a safe environment. 

Register here.

And look for a Q&A with a public school teacher here later today.

The Status Quo

 By Gretchen Garrity

The Springfield School Board, in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday night, voted against publicly supporting a bill that aims to bring more local control to school districts. 

You read that right.

The News-Leader's Claudette Riley does a nice job outlining the issue here, although she should have referred to Dr. Mary Byrne by her professional credentials. Dr. Byrne, who is referenced in the article has nearly 40 years experience as an educator from K-12 and post-secondary education. She deserves to be referred to properly.

Senate Bill 814 is designed to give local school districts more control over testing, sharing of testing results, and accrediting agencies. The full bill is here.

According to the News-Leader, "...the state board will not accredit the districts and will only be allowed to use test results to satisfy the federal law that mandates testing in certain grades and subject areas on an annual basis." Sounds reasonable.

Sen. Jill Carter

 While Springfield school board members acknowledge that the system is broken, the status quo was preserved as the board declined to show support for SB 814 or invite its sponsor Sen. Jill Carter, and educator Dr. Mary Byrne to speak on its behalf.

Dr. Mary Byrne

Board member Dr. Maryam Muhammadkhani's move to have the bill publicly supported by the school board ultimately highlighted the status quo positions of the four members who voted against it: board member and current candidate Danielle Kincaid, board member and current candidate Scott Crise, and board members Judy Brunner and Shurita Thomas-Tate.

Both Kincaid and Crise have been endorsed by the self-described "non-partisan" political action committee United Springfield. Ironically, it was Muhammadkhani who noticed the partisan manner of the "non-partisan" candidates/board members as they refused to meet with Carter and Byrne. As quoted in the News-Leader, she said, "I feel that we came together tonight, not in good faith, because if we wanted to come together and really give this a chance, we would have agreed to hear from the senator, let her make a case for her bill."

Kincaid paid lip service to bipartisanship, but in the end she felt it more important to let the hired school lobbyist provide direction. "I don't support or not support this bill," she was quoted as saying.

Crise likewise noted, "Things could be added to [the bill] we don't agree with so let's just let our lobbyist do their job and support it through the platform rather than specifically support this bill."

The outcome is that the Springfield Board of Education declined to hear from the bill's sponsor and a seasoned educator about returning some local control to their school district. Instead, they decided to rely on a hired hand to do their thinking for them.

Status quo candidates.

Non Partisan, my *** UPDATE

 By Gretchen Garrity

United Springfield PAC has endorsed their candidates, according to the Springfield News-leader. And as I said here* their choice was not going to be anything other than the status quo, which is doing such a stellar job. 😬

United Springfield was formed to keep the school system under the thumb of progressive Uniparty members and local power structures, and tied to groups like the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA). According to the Springfield News-leader, their candidates are:

1) Scott Crise (Incumbent and previously endorsed by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce)

2) Danielle Kincaid (Incumbent and previously endorsed by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce)

3) Susan Provance (A self-described team player)

Background here.

Where's the money coming from? The Springfield Daily Citizen shares that here, and just to show you how partisan are these people who claim they are nonpartisan, according to the link, "People who donated $5,000 each include former Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson, who is also the publisher and chairman of the board of directors for the Springfield Daily Citizen." Now, just read that article again knowing that the former mayor and current publisher of the paper is giving money to a PAC that has just endorsed the preferred status quo of the "long-time leaders" in Springfield.

More on donations here.

Does anyone, anyone believe today that the press is nonpartisan? To quote George Carlin, "It's a big club and you ain't in it."

The narrative is playing out just as noted. It's a dirty business trying to keep the status quo going when one's school district is failing on so many levels.

UPDATE: Chuck Hatfield, the MSBA lawyer who started the United Springfield PAC weighs in on the ruckus in the Missouri Senate today when Sen. Caleb Rowden foolishly removed several of the Freedom Caucus senators from their committees, and even took their parking spaces.

What a nice fellow, eh?

*"If Provance tows the line, if she speaks only positivity, rainbows, and unicorns to voters, she will undoubtedly earn the endorsement of the United Springfield PAC."

More on the School Borg

"'United Springfield' PAC -- MSBA's Latest Tool" (Do read it all!)

The article is from Local's Substack account who is well worth following.

School boards DO have a lot of power. When they give up their power by submitting to the MSBA's decrees, our children are harmed and school boards become the tool of powers that are bent on implementing policies that reach far beyond the classroom.

Do Not Comply with the Left's Speech Rules

Nick Reed weighs in on how the Left coerces speech compliance, which leads to much more compliance in other areas. The Springfield School District and the News-Leader are rolling out the narrative/plan. See here. Can't unsee it. Listen to Nick:

 

The Narrative Business: UPDATE

 

 

By Gretchen Garrity

Setting the narrative is important in politics. We can see that in the local Springfield Board of Education race that is gearing up for election day on April 2, 2024.

Recent News-Leader articles show how a narrative is built and sold to the public. Eight people are now in the race for 2024. First, let's look at a pretty straightforward article from Oct. 24, that discusses which candidates will be running and who on the board will be running for re-election.

Not only does the article mention two previous candidates who will be running again, Landon McCarter, and Dr. Chad Rollins, but makes sure that their vote totals are mentioned. Other previous candidates who were contacted did not get the same detail, including a former incumbent who was defeated in his 2022 reelection bid. Nor are the vote totals for the winners given, which might show a closer race than many would suspect.

Perhaps it's because some of these candidates have not made a decision, or have decided against running. At any rate, there seems to be a subtle nudge there with McCarter and Rollins, both of whom seem to be excellent candidates.

Six days later on Oct. 30, is an article introducing a new PAC called "United Springfield." Watch how the narrative is building. The article starts off:

 "Prominent, long-time Springfield leaders have formed a political action committee to support candidates in upcoming school board and city council races that are required by state law to be nonpartisan."

We see words like "prominent" and "long-time leaders" and "nonpartisan."

 

The PAC's launch was the day before packets could be picked up by potential candidates. We are told "its creation is a direct response to a dramatic increase in the participation of partisan and 'dark money' groups..."

The article goes on to say "such groups have raised significant sums of money, and sent or paid for political attack ads on TV, social media and through text messages."

PAC co-chair Jim Anderson speaks about "civil discourse" and "community partnership" and "collaboration." He's "very concerned with the disruption and the divisiveness and the polarization that seems to be all around us..."

Anderson goes on to opine that the new PAC "is the vehicle we think we need to make the community better." 

Here are some of the PAC's goals: 

"Support of candidates running for nonpartisan office who aim to unite, not divide..."

Then there is "Protecting civil discourse, community partnerships..."

And finally, "Preserving a united, nonpartisan local government."

Remember President George W. Bush, who said he was a uniter, not a divider?

The ick!

To people who have been "long-time leaders" like those who are forming the local PAC, just having candidates who do not align with the status quo power structure can seem divisive and uncivil.

The fact is, schools have been suffering academic decline for years, including the years that the "prominent, long-time Springfield leaders" have been actively in charge of things.

While it's nice that both Democrats and Republicans are forming the PAC together in an effort to be nonpartisan, it's pretty well understood that there is a Uniparty power structure on all levels of government--local, state, and national. And it's the Uniparty members, long used to being in charge, that oversee bloated government budgets, declining schools, and higher taxes.

Back to the narrative building. In a Nov. 10, 2023 News-Leader article, an eighth candidate has emerged to run for the Springfield Board of Education. Susan Everett Provance has announced. Self-described as a "team player," Provance has a long history with Springfield Public Schools, from student, to teaching and coaching, to having children in the district.

 

Here comes the narrative part:

"She said the ugliness of recent school board races--with candidates subjected to negative TV ads, flyers, and videos--was a concern as she explored a campaign.

"'The priority ought to be the kids,' she said, adding that she is nonpartisan."

"'In this nasty world of politics, I consider myself part of the silent majority that now needs to step up and not be silent.'"

If Provance tows the line, if she speaks only positivity, rainbows, and unicorns to voters, she will undoubtedly earn the endorsement of the United Springfield PAC. 

This is the narrative that is being built by the local power brokers in Springfield. If you step out of line, if you say anything about school issues that seems remotely negative about another candidate or their platform, then you are a divider, and you must be silenced through appeals to civility and nonpartisanship.

This is how the free expression of ideas is suppressed in public discourse. This is how "prominent long-time leaders" retain their power structures.

This will not help Springfield schools. Hopefully, voters will be awake to the narrative. Look for similar narratives when Christian County school board races start up.

UPDATE: Here is more of the Narrative Business in this latest article about the Springfield School Board Race. The "uniters" are pulling out all the stops. In this article about Kyler Sherman-Wilkins we immediately see the narrative words "partisanship," "divisive," "inciting division," and "one voice."

Once you see the Narrative, you can't unsee it. The latest candidate is going to be an interesting one in the mix. He's got lots of experience in the public sphere and his politispeak is smooth. The powerful in Springfield are walking a tight line. We may see some unusual alliances in the coming months.