“One close friend of the Flemings remembers a time when three couples were relaxing in the sun at Goldeneye. The men, in jest, each told the story of how they’d had their first woman. After all was said and done, Anne spoke up with, “All right, now I’ll tell you how I had my first woman!”
― Raymond Benson, The James Bond Bedside Companion

in my family, we have a rule that says, “We don’t keep secrets.”

It’s not a policy that pertains to the kids only. We believe that to demand honesty you have to give honesty.

Do you want to know difficult? Adhere to a policy that you are incapable of, yet demand from others.

My expectations from the kids are that they will always tell the truth, and share what’s going on inside. As a parent, I’m often challenged to do the same.

I’ve explained to kids, I’m from a different generation. We often hide our fears, and our parents felt comfortable shading the truth forms. Their answer is always the same, how do you expect us to share when you won’t?

It is a fair question.

Over the past 5 years, I’ve had some painful conversations with my children. I’ve answered questions that I never thought I would have to address – providing answers I never envisioned giving.

There are times that I fall short, and I resort to shading the truth, either out of a misguided sense of protection for both myself and them, or laziness. Sometimes it’s easier to just say, “I’m fine”.

When I do fall short, I try to own up to the mistake through acknowledgment and adjustment.

I’m pretty sure we’ve long dispelled any illusions of me being any kind of superhero.

I’m also pretty sure that they recognize my willingness to do anything for them, even if it makes me very uncomfortable. In turn, it gives them encouragement to trust me and allow themselves to be uncomfortable with me.

The result is, that they confide in me with regularity. We talk, often, and I try to give what they share the same preference as I give what I share. I don’t suffer under the illusion that I know everything, but I am pretty well-versed in their lives.

Please don’t think that I think I have a kind of secret sauce in parenting.

There are millions of other parents employing hundreds of other strategies to get to the same place. To produce children who become good, kind, decent functioning adults. I’m just a dude trying to do a job where I am grossly underqualified.

My wife and I are just two sailors in a boat traveling unchartered oceans.

Over the last several years, the subject of parental rights has become a primary topic of discussion. To be honest, I’m not even sure what that means.

I do believe that I have a right to raise my children in a manner that I see fit as long as they are safe and provided for. What I don’t have the right to do is tell them who they are going to be. I don’t have the right to define them, that right is reserved for them.

For me it’s the inverse, I must provide them a space where they can be the best version of who they are, even when I can’t define what that means.

My daughter and I had this conversation, just yesterday.

There are traits that I hope they incorporate throughout their lives – grace, kindness, honesty, diligence, strong work ethic, etc – but all I can do is model those behaviors and reinforce that modeling through honest conversations. I can’t demand they become anything else but who they are, and who they choose to be.

That requires some trust.

I say all of this as a preamble to discussing a bill that passed out of the Tennessee State Senate yesterday.

SB1810 sponsored by Tennessee Republican Sen. Paul Rose and Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson requires teachers to inform school administrators, and ultimately parents, if a student has confided they plan to transition to a different gender or wish to be called by different pronouns.

Is this information I want to know? Sure, but then I’m kind of nosy and want to know as much as possible about my child.

Is it something I need the government to pass a law over? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s kinda fucking creepy.

If I’m doing my job as a parent, and creating a space of trust, it’s probably something I would already know. But even then there are all kinds of reasons why my child might not have told me. Everything from a desire to exert independence to a lack of certainty is a possibility. Maybe I’m not being as open as I think I am. That requires self-reflection not legislation.

During yesterday’s State Senate floor session, Senators Yarbro (D-Nashville) and Akbari (D-Memphis) attacked the bill based on its effects on LGBQT students. That’s legitimate, but let’s consider it on a larger scale, an individual’s right to privacy,

I know that seems to run counter to my desire to dispel secrets, but some things you need to have the right to reveal on your timeline, not the government’s.

If you confided something personal to a friend, and they turned around and told your spouse or another friend what you said, you’d be pissed.

Yet here we are trying to institutionalize and codify the same behavior.

Back in the 80s, with the birth of DARE, we began breeding snitches. This is just a continuation of that process.

The schooling years are about more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are about socialization and figuring out who you are going to be as an adult. With that comes experimentation, Just because you think you are going to be one way at 12 doesn’t mean that’s who you are going to be at 17, though sometimes the inverse is true as well. A child has the right to explore all of that in a safe environment.

You’ve got to have a sense of security to make the journey an authentic one.

I’ve got a boy who can be a teacher’s worst nightmare, In talking with another teacher, who adores him, she made the remark, “As soon as he realizes you actually care about him, he’s golden.” I highly doubt my son is an outlier.

Yes, finding out that my child was referring to themselves with different pronouns, or name after the fact would hurt my feelings. But for me, it’s just hurt feelings, for my child, not having that safety zone is so much more.

I’m an adult, I should be able to navigate hurt feelings in order to help them develop to a place where they can do the same.

On an even bigger picture, once again, I find myself asking, how is more government intrusion into individual personal lives consistent with conservative core values?

One step further, how does a state governed run by a conservative supermajority consistently enact laws that don’t align with core conservative beliefs?

– – –

Over the last week or so, I’ve been looking at this upcoming National Supervisor of Principals Academy being hosted by AVID and Metro Nashville Public Schools. The Academy is 6 sessions over 6 months.

The first is at the Martin Center on May 8-9 and focuses on “Leading and supporting principals in establishing equitable and student cultural systems”.

MNPS’s Dr. Bellamy and Dr. Renita Perry are scheduled to present on this topic.

Yeah, I know, but we are going to leave the jokes alone for a bit here.

In case you are unfamiliar, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a non-profit with a mission statement that prescribes a desire “to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college and career readiness and success in a global society”.

MNPS and AVID have a long history together. District Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle worked extensively with the organization during her tenure as principal at Antioch HS. The school was recognized at that time as an AVID model school. During her time as district superintendent, their footprint has grown exponentially.

This is a good place for the reminder that just because an organization bears the tax designation of non-profit, doesn’t mean there is no profit being made.

Per GuideStar, a non-prophet finance tracking site, AVID has gross receipts of $82,222,366 and assets totaling $144,956,219. Their Chief Executive Officer pulls in nearly three-quarters of a million dollars a year. Nine other officers account for another 2 million in salaries. Total executive salaries equals $3,429,284 a year for roughly 10 people.

Last year, gross receipts from admissions, merchandise sold or services performed, or facilities furnished in any activity related to the organization’s tax­ exempt purpose were $77,163,135.

Tell me again, how there is no money in public education.

The Supervision of Principals has recently received greater scrutiny. Research done by Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development was included in two of three reports released on July 21, 2020, by the Wallace Foundation, a national philanthropy that seeks to improve learning for marginalized children.

“The research is clear that principal instructional leadership is crucial for improving schools,” said Ellen Goldring, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy. “However, the principal supervisor has not been tapped to specifically develop and support principals to become more effective instructional leaders. This research looks at efforts to change that.”

In other words, training in this subject is a growing market. One that for some reason, MNPS feels qualified to dip its toes in despite not having a reputation for supporting and retaining building leadership. Every year MNPS replaces between 10 and 25% of their principals. many of the new principals being drawn from the ranks of local sororities.

The Martin Center is a taxpayer-funded building constructed to facilitate the trading of Nashville’s professional educators. Since many of the people being attending the upcoming academy would be employed outside the district, I inquired if a fee was being charged for the usage of the Center.

I was told by MNPS Communications Chief Sean Braisted, “We are very proud of our strong partnership with AVID and the ability to serve as a model school district for how this program can be implemented effectively to benefit our students.”

Braisted added, “As a non-profit entity AVID is not paying to rent the space but is covering any costs associated with its use per our facility usage agreement procedures. AVID receives the payments from the participants.”

I further inquired if Dr. Bellamy and Dr. Perry were speaking as part of their regular MNPS duties, or if their participation was outside of their normal responsibilities? Was either being compensated?

I was told, “Both Dr. Bellamy and Dr. Perry are presenting as part of this partnership as part of their MNPS responsibilities. Neither is being compensated by AVID.” Looking for the page where that is in the job description, but willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. I do question whether this is a proper reflection of priorities.

I would think lowering the number of priority schools in the district would take precedence, especially in light of the recent growth in district schools achieving that designation from the federal government. I am also hearing, that there are questions about how the district will continue to fund central office positions that support priority schools.

Federal resources are expiring.

Grant regulations stipulate that 80% of federal money must go to individual schools.

The challenge is not a light one.

Which made me think of the $4500 tuition being charged. Maybe this is a way to help supplement district resources.

Nope, Braisted told me that, “AVID receives the payments from the participants.”

Let’s do a little math here.

If the Academy draws 100 people – shouldn’t be a stretch considering Nashville’s “it city” status and the district’s ability to draw 300 for their recently conducted Academies tour for which they charge $100 a head – that is $450,000. Nearly half a million dollars.

So the organization that racks up millions annually pockets more, while the organization that annually cries underfunded puts nothing in the bank. That seems to be about right.

Evidence on the success rate of AVID is elusive, and MNPS has yet to provide how they plan to measure its success. The74 calls the program a success, saying, “The boost to college graduation rates achieved by AVID is strikingly similar to those produced by the big charter school networks that serve the same type of students. That’s not surprising; it’s what happens when students get the right preparation and the right college guidance.”

My favorite quote though comes in the introduction to a report written by the Coalition to Protect Our Public Schools. They are less impressed with the program as a billionaire-promoted, quick fix, miracle cure, Ed Reform program  – which claims to help low-income struggling students simply by teaching them better study habits.

They go even further by saying:

“In the interest of full disclosure, as a person who grew up in a poverty and knows what is it like to be hungry, I find it deeply offensive for billionaires to be promoting such programs at a time when the child poverty rate in Washington state is 50% and 35,000 students are homeless and living on the street or in the back of a car. Poor struggling students need much more than just better study habits. It is grossly insulting to blame poor students for the fact that they are struggling in our grossly overcrowded schools – schools that are over-crowded because billionaires refuse to pay their fair share of state and federal taxes.”

There is that.

– – –

Staying with MNPS, Metro Council has finally got around to appointing an interim school board representative for District 5.  The seat has been empty since the beginning of the year when former chairwoman Christiane Buggs resigned.

On Tuesday, Metro Council appointed TK Wayne to the vacant seat on the school board. Fayne will serve in the role until the Aug. 1 election. She is running unopposed for the District 5 seat.

The newest board member is a business analyst at Amazon who has said her top priorities as a school board member will be equitable funding, inclusive curriculum, and professional development.

Buggs resigned from her role as a school board member after accepting a position as president and CEO of Public Education Needs Community Involvement and Leadership, also known as PENCIL. She served on the school board from 2016 to 2023, defeating three opponents in 2016 and running unopposed in 2020.

– – –

Speaking of the MNPS school board, word on the street is that the board’s upcoming Government Committee Meeting is going to be an interesting one.

Apparently, Board Chair Rachel Elrod is looking to make substantial changes to existing policy. Among those is the board’s conflict of interest policy, In this case, it seems to be getting some much-needed teeth.

If a board member is found to have an indirect interest and fails to disclose such interest, or becomes directly interested in any contract, he/she shall forfeit all compensation. He/she shall also be dismissed from the Board and be ineligible to serve in the same or similar position for ten (10) years.

Where it gets interesting is with changes proposed for public participation.

The total time dedicated to public participation at any meeting of the board shall be no more than 30 minutes. The executive committee shall determine at what point in the meeting the public participation portion will take place. The board chair shall set the amount of time allotted to each speaker, however, in no case shall that time be more than three minutes per person. If a large number of people have requested to speak, the chair shall divide the allotted 30-minute time equally among those who have signed up. Remarks to the board shall be submitted in writing at least 48 hours prior to the board meeting and remarks shall be displayed publicly during the allotted time.

Interesting, I thought we were all about transparency.

Yet we continue to wonder why enrollment continually drops and voucher legislation appears.

– – –

A little cautionary tale for you. Or as I like to say, legislation has unintended real-world consequences. Recently, due to some issues, we required some union assistance. Dues had been payroll deducted for 15 years, so we hadn’t thought them much. Union membership was always considered a gimme in our family.

What we quickly found out is that we hadn’t made the transition to direct draft, as required by law. Translation, we weren’t members and had no access to services.

Luckily both Professional Educators of Tennessee and MNEA rose to the challenge and we were able to navigate the situation.

The moral of the story is don’t take membership for granted. Check to make sure your membership with either organization is in place. before you need it. Nobody should risk teaching in today’s culture without protection.

– – –

We recently lost a talented man, Malcolm Holcomb. if there was justice in the world, he would be revered and rewarded to the same degree as Dylan, Springsteen, Earle, or Mitchell. But there is not and he’s not. I considered Malcolm a dear friend, despite not seeing much of him in recent years. Age has a way of doing that to you.

I could wax poetically about Malcolm for hours, but suffice it to say, he’s the only one I’ve ever known who didn’t choose his profession, but rather had it choose him. A gifted intelligent kind man, he couldn’t have been anything but a songwriter, even as he avoided mass acceptance by repeatedly shooting himself in the foot.

If you’ve never heard his music, search it out, You won’t be disappointed.

“From a Cajun diner to Carolina
Sick in the mornin’ to see the town doctor
Life and Agatha Christie in a Trailway back from New Orleans
Who dunnit, who carried you?

From the church yard to the liquor store
From the clothes line clean out the door
Life and Agatha Christie in a Trailway back from New Orleans
Who dunnit, who carried you?

Thelma Marie, three boys love Pearl and Gene
Fifty-nine to heaven
Through thirty-seven years, oh Lord
Who dunnit, who carried you?

Remember sittin’ on a lap
Smellin’ Listerine in black and white
Might be a Fada TV, or a Fleetline to the A&P
Who dunnit, who carried you?

Thelma Marie, three boys love Pearl and Gene
From fifty-nine to heaven
Through thirty-seven years, oh Lord
Who dunnit, who carried you?

From a Cajun diner to Carolina
Sick in the mornin’ to see the town doctor
Life and Agatha Christie in a Trailway back from New Orleans.

Thank you, Malcolm.

– – –

As always, I need to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.

If you could help a brother out…and you think this blog has value, your support would be greatly appreciated. This time of year money gets really tight, while the blogging workload increases exponentially. that can’t be overstated.

To those who’ve thrown some coins in the basket, I am eternally grateful for your generosity. It allows me to keep doing what I do and without you, I would have been forced to quit long ago. It is truly appreciated and keeps the bill collectors semi-happy. Now more than ever your continued support is vital.

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Categories: Education