#10 Review Period

Wisdom and PhilosophyRecommendation and ProposalsPolicy and ProcedureOperationsStructure and OrganizationComments and OpinionsFunctions

Jun 2

Written By Roberto Publico

We don’t have the time and we are no experts concerning how or what to teach, so we hire (elect) school board members to do the job for us. That’s how the representative system works and it seems like a good idea. School board members are usually experienced and qualified and are supposed to represent us - do what we would do if we were doing the job. Most of the time they do a pretty good job. Sometimes, however, they get a little off track. They get caught up in their own “I know best” or, worse yet, advocate for some ideology or cause based on things like racism or Marxism, real or imagined.

Generally, these are easy to see. Rather than explaining all sides and letting you decide, they explain one side and tell you this is the way it should be. They tell you WHAT to think, not, here’s the information, here’s the relevant significance, you look it over and you decide.

So, there are at least two things wrong here. One is that we are in charge, not the school board. It needs to be reversed - we tell the school board what to do. The second is there should be transparency in the process. The general practice in most legislatures is to have a period of time the proposed item - textbook, material, curriculum, whatever. - should be on public display for 90 days before it is approved. It should be published in a newspaper, published on a Web Site and made available in written or electronic form where anybody can read and see what it is before it’s approved.

We require this of legislatures, congress and other groups we participate in. Why not school boards. Makes perfect sense.

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