Finley, I am.

Blog

#schools

Truth matters. Words matter.

Truth matters. Words matter. Without meaning, words are pointless.

When you hear “school shooting”, yesterday is what comes to mind. And yesterday was terrible. Seventeen dead. And it took just minutes for the media to start talking about ways to prevent this, both sides having their piece, their take. Before the bodies are even buried, before most parents even knew their kid was one of the dead ones, we are calling half the country evil for supporting gun rights.

The statistic being quoted by many last night and this morning is that in 2018, a year that we are only some forty days into, has seen eighteen school shootings, referring to the reporting from a group called Everytown for Gun Safety. That is truly an appalling number. 18 school shootings. When you hear “school shooting”, yesterday is what comes to mind. And yesterday was terrible. Seventeen dead. But yesterday is not what Everytown is calling a school shooting. They are counting all shootings at schools or involving schools. Truth matters. Words matter. Without meaning, words are pointless.

So what does this reporting from Everytown mean? Eight of those eighteen resulted in no injuries or fatalities. Two were suicides, one in the parking lot and one in the bathroom at a school. One was a gun fired unintentionally, no one hurt. Of these eighteen incidents, three people were killed— not including the two suicides— and roughly 30-35 were injured, according to The Daily Wire.

We all wish that yesterday was one bad day out of a million good days. We all wish we had a billboard that counted the days from the last school shooting and it had been at 30 years. But when “we include suicides, accidental discharges, purposeful shootings without injuries, and purposeful shootings without only ‘superficial’ wounds” as school shootings on par with what happened yesterday our words lose meaning. We become numb. Yesterday was just another school shooting. That was the new normal. But it isn’t. It isn’t the new normal.

Truth matters. Words matter. I hope that you agree.

To the Left

To the Left: You’ve been pushing to federalize public education for decades as most conservatives have been saying that public education should be run at the local level. You’ve been voting for more and more control to be had by the federal government over education. More and more power. And now you are scared shitless by the fact that that power is in the hands of someone who disagrees with you.

That is the very problem with government. If you give it power, it could be used against you. This is why our Founding Fathers sought to limit government. You let the government define what marriage is, eventually those in power will disagree with you. You let the government define what hate speech is, eventually those in power will declare your views hate speech. You let the government control what your kid learns and doesn’t learn in school, eventually those in power will teach your kid what you don’t want them to learn.

So now, you all will start moving your kids to private schools because the public schools will go this shit. At least you think they will. And you’ll find that private schools cost a lot of money. And that your tax money is now going to a school your kids don’t attend. And that is unfair.

A vote for DeVos is a vote for resegregation?

School choice is not really about freedom. Freedom, of course, is a bedrock American value. But the kind of “freedom” associated with the flight away from integration and toward racial isolation will never lead to a more truly free United States.

CNN

As a father, I want what is best for my daughter. As I’ve seen schools become more and more liberal, push liberal political doctrine, and sexual ethics— such as Illinois passing a few years back a new sexual education program that included teaching kindergarteners about masturbation— I’ve very much moved towards either homeschooling or private schooling my daughter.

Not once has it crossed my mind to do so to keep her from “children of color”. Not once has it been to keep her from other children at all. And I know many homeschool mothers and private school fathers out there that have never once thought this way. It has only ever been about her education.

This is a prime example of race-baiting. I want a better education for my daughter, so I’m a racist.

Real Men Lead, Not Hide

In response to letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group that clearly hasn’t read the Constitution that says we have a “freedom of religion,” a Texas Superintendent wrote the following:

Recently, I have been contacted by two concerned residents of White Oak ISD and legal counsel from the Freedom From Religion Foundation concerning the use of scripture in the “Thought for the Day” at the high school.

The residents were offended at the use of scripture, demanding that it be stopped and calling for disciplinary action against Mr. Noll. I am fully aware of the practice at the high school and will not pursue any action against our High School Principal or any other member of our faculty/staff concerning this issue.

The letter from the FFRF is not the first received by the district. They contacted us in the fall with concerns about the practices at our football games. I have responded in accordance with their stated concerns and we have moved on.

Let me be clear, this is an attempt to draw us into a contest of words for the sole purpose of giving the FFRF a large amount of free press/recognition that they and their very few members (1,200 in Texas) do not deserve. This group and others like it, are wanting us to provide them with negative quotes to use in the promotion of their agenda. We can and will make the adjustments needed to ensure our students experience a morally sound, positive character based education. There are a multitude of options to provide our students, faculty and staff the opportunity to express their First Amendment Rights as provided for in the United States Constitution. Let me also be clear that we have not (in my opinion) violated anyone’s rights and/or subjected anyone to undue stress. Bible studies and scriptures are allowed in schools. The requirement is that the material be presented in a neutral manner. It is my position that we met that standard with the morning announcements.

My recommended response to the FFRF is, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I will be praying for you and your staff daily.”

Finally, as a Christian Brother, it will not promote the values we hold so dear to assail those that disagree with the Gospel. We will state our case. We will make sure our rights are just as protected as anyone else that lives in this great country. We will continue to provide for all the needs of our students and we will do so while traveling the High Road. Don’t get drawn into a game of words that has no “winner”.

Please do not waste your time and effort on these few detractors.

KETK

Instead of pansying away like many schools have when threated in similar manners across our nation by the religious anti-religion group, this man stood his ground. Thank you, Superintendent Michael Gilbert. You make me want to move to Texas.