Thanks, Marty. I wishI could forgive and forget. Trust me, I've tried. After working so hard, for so long for something, to only watch others come in to rip it apart, takes a lot from someone. I'll keep trying, though.
I need to add that this Riverbend debacle has gotten so bad I don’t even know what to make of it. I thought it was over cameras in a locker room. Then it wasn’t.
It’s a convoluted mess from my vantage point, but maybe the chaos was part of certain people’s plan.
My comment is really towards the idea we should be forgiving and forgetting the wrongdoings our representatives, like Taylor, Twigg, Phelps, and their supporters/enablers have done over the years.
These people are working to ruin public education, not make it better. They are working to break the system. Not fix it.
There has to be accountability for a person’s actions. Taylor is openly racist and bigoted. Youngkin’s VDOE enabled him and allowed him to oversee so much of our diverse student body.
I won’t forget any of that.
If Taylor did something illegal during his time as Superintendent, I hope to God he gets more than a termination. Same with Twigg (well, he has in a way). Same with anyone else who is chosen to represent people.
Accountability is the pathway to forgiveness and that’s the only way to truly move forward.
The connection of "the parent" to the persons you named, Ms. Rinker, and their very close relationships, are the instruments by which this "chaos" (well-put) happened. I commend you on wanting accountability and transparency in our School Board and Division (as elsewhere, wherever the people's business is being conducted). I have felt more stress than I can describe for insisting that all our systems of assurance function properly for the benefit of all. I don't understand why there would be any hostility to that notion. So much happened here that deserves the "medicines of air and light", as MLK Jr. described injustice in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. But there is some intense hostility to that notion in Spotsylvania. I'm beginning to understand why so many keep their heads down when the snarling starts.
Institutional accountability and appropriate, tailored reform are all that remains outstanding on this matter. Without, dare I say it, Justice, there's no "moving on", there's just "continuing on." There must be transparency and accountability for misconduct. Judge McGrath, respectfully, had a very bad day that, perhaps, he rescued a bit with the closing statement upon dismissal of the case. But how our system got overtaken across the top of the Board (its Chairwoman) and its Superintendent and RHS Principal is a story that has to have a resolution in the system of accountability, not just the public's fleeting interests. We should all seek speedy, but thorough attention to, and accountability for, what went wrong here, not just putting it in our rear-view mirror, still smoldering and toxic, ready to be repeated again, and again, and again . . . Should our officials respond to FOIA, for example? This matter can help us get a real answer, and real reform, on that. Should parents be able to hire and fire the coaches of programs their 'young adults' compete in? This matter can produce needed reforms on that front. Should coaches be able to grieve maltreatment as, presently, they cannot unless they're also teachers? This matter, properly prosecuted to conclusion, can produce a serious record on that for public consideration. Should Board and Division officials surreptitiously funnel information to colleagues, toadies and 'news outlets' to threaten and intimidate good people? This matter, if taken seriously, will provide the key material for officials and voters to consider. Does our current system provide checks and balances for parents and families of students to rely upon in situations like this one? If not, how can those assurances get built back into the system? This is not about technical terminations of Taylor and Downs. It's about so much more. Judge McGrath behaved horribly in court yesterday. He shamed the Bar that licensed him. He knows that. The issue is, why did he try to intimidate Ellis so brazenly? And that, too, is something to consider before "moving on."
Thanks, Marty. I wishI could forgive and forget. Trust me, I've tried. After working so hard, for so long for something, to only watch others come in to rip it apart, takes a lot from someone. I'll keep trying, though.
This piece is spoken from a place of privilege.
Don’t tell us to forgive or forget without accountability of any wrongdoing.
History has taught me that hasn’t worked out very well.
To do so invites others to try again where others haven’t quite succeeded.
I need to add that this Riverbend debacle has gotten so bad I don’t even know what to make of it. I thought it was over cameras in a locker room. Then it wasn’t.
It’s a convoluted mess from my vantage point, but maybe the chaos was part of certain people’s plan.
My comment is really towards the idea we should be forgiving and forgetting the wrongdoings our representatives, like Taylor, Twigg, Phelps, and their supporters/enablers have done over the years.
These people are working to ruin public education, not make it better. They are working to break the system. Not fix it.
There has to be accountability for a person’s actions. Taylor is openly racist and bigoted. Youngkin’s VDOE enabled him and allowed him to oversee so much of our diverse student body.
I won’t forget any of that.
If Taylor did something illegal during his time as Superintendent, I hope to God he gets more than a termination. Same with Twigg (well, he has in a way). Same with anyone else who is chosen to represent people.
Accountability is the pathway to forgiveness and that’s the only way to truly move forward.
The connection of "the parent" to the persons you named, Ms. Rinker, and their very close relationships, are the instruments by which this "chaos" (well-put) happened. I commend you on wanting accountability and transparency in our School Board and Division (as elsewhere, wherever the people's business is being conducted). I have felt more stress than I can describe for insisting that all our systems of assurance function properly for the benefit of all. I don't understand why there would be any hostility to that notion. So much happened here that deserves the "medicines of air and light", as MLK Jr. described injustice in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. But there is some intense hostility to that notion in Spotsylvania. I'm beginning to understand why so many keep their heads down when the snarling starts.
Institutional accountability and appropriate, tailored reform are all that remains outstanding on this matter. Without, dare I say it, Justice, there's no "moving on", there's just "continuing on." There must be transparency and accountability for misconduct. Judge McGrath, respectfully, had a very bad day that, perhaps, he rescued a bit with the closing statement upon dismissal of the case. But how our system got overtaken across the top of the Board (its Chairwoman) and its Superintendent and RHS Principal is a story that has to have a resolution in the system of accountability, not just the public's fleeting interests. We should all seek speedy, but thorough attention to, and accountability for, what went wrong here, not just putting it in our rear-view mirror, still smoldering and toxic, ready to be repeated again, and again, and again . . . Should our officials respond to FOIA, for example? This matter can help us get a real answer, and real reform, on that. Should parents be able to hire and fire the coaches of programs their 'young adults' compete in? This matter can produce needed reforms on that front. Should coaches be able to grieve maltreatment as, presently, they cannot unless they're also teachers? This matter, properly prosecuted to conclusion, can produce a serious record on that for public consideration. Should Board and Division officials surreptitiously funnel information to colleagues, toadies and 'news outlets' to threaten and intimidate good people? This matter, if taken seriously, will provide the key material for officials and voters to consider. Does our current system provide checks and balances for parents and families of students to rely upon in situations like this one? If not, how can those assurances get built back into the system? This is not about technical terminations of Taylor and Downs. It's about so much more. Judge McGrath behaved horribly in court yesterday. He shamed the Bar that licensed him. He knows that. The issue is, why did he try to intimidate Ellis so brazenly? And that, too, is something to consider before "moving on."