Resignation Letter

Some time ago, in response to a WND column entitled Another Year, Another Failure, I received an email from a gentleman named Harry who related an extraordinary story. I asked permission to post his email as well as some supporting information.
_____________________________

I always enjoy your commentary and can relate somewhat directly to the problem of the teacher in Chicago who is being charged with "weapons violations" for showing tools to a second grade class.

In my case, and to give you a little history, I retired from design research and after being bored for a year took a job in the local school district serving hot lunches to little kids. It was perhaps more fun than my career. But even though I had three very good performance reviews, an excellent working relationship with the kitchen staff and certainly had a good rapport with the kids, I was threatened with disciplinary action up to and including termination because I had the insipid gall to defend the word "Christmas" and other such indiscretions.

A teacher distributed a survey around the school asking for thoughts on the establishment of certain activities: A bowling team, a bus trip to Boston for shopping, a theater trip, etc. The thing that got me in hot water was the part of the survey that asked where should we have the "Winter Holiday" party: Should the "Winter Holiday party be at the school? Should the "Winter Holiday party be at a local restaurant? Should the "Winter Holiday" party be ...?, etc. I got out my black marker, crossed out "Winter Holiday" and wrote Christmas. In the comment section I wrote a very pointed opinion about the issue saying in effect that I thought it was a shame that this school saw fit to minimize or eliminate a part of our culture and heritage that has been with us for many, many years just so we wouldn't offend someone. I also made a remark about "weak-kneed" administrators who didn't have the courage to stand up to this nonsense.

I also discovered a new oxymoron: Tolerant Liberal. The HR director in another meeting with me actually said in so many words that unless I was a politician or a school board member I should, in effect, keep my mouth shut. The fact that I told school officials that I would not apologize for anything I said really got their shorts in a twist.

I had already signed a new contract for the following year but as time went on the situation became untenable. It was right near the end of the school year and the day, the DAY after school ended for the summer, I received a letter explaining that if my disrespectful behavior continued I would be subject to further disciplinary action up to and including termination.

That did it! I decided that I was working there because I wanted to and not because I had to. So, I spent the next two weeks composing my letter of resignation: two pages and single spaced, where I lambasted them for all this idiocy. I had it read by educated friends for their input and suggestions and whether I was taking the right approach. They all felt the letter was well written and to the point. [NOTE: Letter copied below.] So I mailed it and in response I got a letter accepting my resignation and wishing me well in my future endeavors. How nice of them!

In my professional life I have taught at the university level, I taught kindergarten while in graduate school and over the years have developed a very negative opinion of our educational system. Are we doomed as a nation or is there a solution? Closing down the Department of Education, abolishing tenure and eliminating a lot of professorial deadwood might be a way to start. Just thought I would pass this on.
_____________________________________

Here is the instigating document, ironically called a "Joy and Celebration Survey." (I blocked out a name.) (Click to enlarge.)

(For clarity, his comments at the bottom read, "Comment -- It is time that this idiocy and weak-kneed attitude of school administrators is questioned and acted on. Christmas is an important and valued part of our culture and heritage and should not be treated so indifferently or out of fear of offending someone. You are in America! Act like it! Merry Christmas!"
__________________________________________

Here is the resulting disciplinary letter he received (click to enlarge):

__________________________________________

Here is a copy of Harry's resignation letter:

Dear [name deleted],

This letter is to inform you of my decision to resign my position at [name deleted] School.

I find it quite interesting and unfortunate how a situation can be allowed to deteriorate because of fragile egos. I also find it interesting how my job can be put on the line because of my personal views and comments on issues that are not unique to [name deleted] School, but are of concern to many across the U.S. and, at the same time, for my excellent job performance review of May 12th of this year to be totally ignored. It makes me think that there is a distorted sense of values in play here. At this stage in my life I will not allow myself to be intimidated and scolded like a little child, especially by people considerably younger than I am. Management by intimidation is unprofessional and wrong and I will not tolerate it. I will not allow myself to be manipulated by signing something I feel is inaccurate. “Disrespectful Behavior”? That really should be explained further as it seems to relate more to my job performance than my views. If there was any disrespect floating around it certainly did not come from me. “Discomfort with my responses”? I guess nobody has ever confronted or challenged school officials before and they are at a loss as to how to handle it. But if these are the ways that challenges are met and handled at [name deleted] School, then perhaps they should look inward for resolution.

Other issues are the Halloween problem and my supposed comment to [name deleted] that I truly believe never happened. This could have been reliance by [name deleted] on second or third hand information or made up, as was the insinuation that I criticized the President at some point. Also the anonymous survey where the comment I made in defense of Christmas so upset some people that they were determined to find the source. Having done that they had the gall to confront me with it. That was bullying, intimidation and a violation of my privacy which probably could easily be determined by legal counsel. And for [name deleted] to say that I am intolerant is unconscionable. When [name deleted] mentioned my “emailing the world” about the talent show problem I was disappointed that you did not interject the fact that it was your suggestion that I also email your boss after offering me your support. What was that all about? In another instance I remember the presentation the kids put on the Friday before spring vacation. I found it appalling that several got up and recited little speeches about global warming and related issues. I wasn’t listening to kids, I was hearing little programmed robots that have been taught what to think and not how to think. I learned in graduate school almost 40 years ago that education was beginning to spiral downhill and, in so many words, I told [name deleted] that in our first meeting. She quickly said it was getting better. Of course I disagreed. Apparently we don’t read the same books.

And when it comes to the murals in the hallway I thought it was a wonderful project, especially with all the kids participating. I could have taken issue with that too but chose not to. I came to work one morning and saw several people working on the tiles and talked with one to get an understanding of the project. Nice conversation, until I made a suggestion that got brushed off without so much as a “thanks for your input”. I thought it would be nice to have next to the murals a chart listing all the kids names, their grade and the code that would allow them to find their particular tile in the several hundred that comprised the murals. My reasoning was that each child should get individual recognition for their work and also be able to show their parents the tile when they visit the school. I was told it was a “school project” and that everyone from the “school” participated. Apparently the “individual” is not important but the “group” is.

A short time after the murals were finished I happened to see one of the third graders in the hall. She was heading for the library with a cart of books and I asked her about the mural and where her tile was. She told me the code number. I committed that to memory and next morning I brought in my camera and took a picture of her tile. I went on the computer at home and made a print of it complete with all the pertinent information about school, grade and her name. I then gave it to her for her birthday, so at least one student got recognition. These are the kinds of things I am concerned about and justifiably so. This was a time to pat the kids on the back and I don’t believe it was forthcoming.

John Dewey, an educational philosopher, has been quoted as saying “Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone is interdependent”. I could never be a disciple of John Dewey because he, as an educator many years ago, set American education on a path that is not working in the best interests of this country. In a different era, Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political philosopher in his Democracy in America said “The citizens are led insensibly, and perhaps against their will, daily to give up fresh portions of their individual independence to the government, and those same men who from time to time have upset a throne and trampled kings beneath their feet bend without resistance to the slightest wishes of some government clerk”. It was individuality and entrepreneurialism that made this such a wonderful country and it is gradually being decimated by an ideology that no one in education wants to admit exists. I have taught at the university level and continue to be disturbed at the “product” that higher education is producing. These newly minted “teachers” over the years have been saturating K-12 with an ideology that is preventing kids from understanding where they came from and who they are as Americans and watering down our culture and heritage with “diversity” and “multiculturalism”. American history, if it’s taught at all, utilizes textbooks that are revised, rewritten and misleading in their facts and downplays American exceptionalism. And if I were to go to the school library I would almost be willing to bet that I would also find a book entitled “Heather Has Two Mommies”. There are some very unfortunate agendas working their way into school curriculums at lower and lower grades. If I had any power I would shut down the Department of Education and break up the NEA for the corrupting influences that they are. I know I am digressing here and getting away from the issue at hand. But I just wanted to give you some insight.

I want you to know that I have the utmost respect for [name deleted] and can not see burdening her with my continued employment knowing that I would be going through the year with a large target on my back. I believe it would create a very untenable situation for her and be a source of unnecessary stress. Although I loved my job and certainly loved being around the kids I prefer not to be part of an institution that is drifting away little by little from all the positive American traditions and values that are so important in life, and to me.

Sincerely,
Harry S.
__________________________________________

The reason I took such pains to post this issue is because it so beautifully illustrates the (cough) "tolerance" and (cough) "diversity" in the public school system. Clearly employees can only be tolerant of one side of an issue, and diversity must never include traditional viewpoints.

My thanks to Harry for supplying this information.

Eww yuck....

A reader, knowing how much I like to poke fun at fashion, sent me this photo. She wrote, "In my opinion some things should NEVER be crocheted and this is one of them."

I couldn't agree more.

Though I will admit, someone is clever with her yarn.

To seed or not to seed

We didn't get much out of the garden this year. We had such a cold wet spring that many things simply didn't come up; or if it did come up, it didn't do very well. That included the corn. I planted it at the right time, but the cold and saturated soil was unforgiving. (By way of comparison, I always look with envy at a garden we pass on our way to church, since they always have the prettiest garden in the neighborhood. This year, their corn looked worse than mine.) Anyway, bottom line -- I honestly didn't think I had any corn worth harvesting.

But when I started poking around, things were fractionally better than I'd hoped. Here the cows, know that poking around in the corn often means treats, hang around the fence.

Sure enough, I tossed some immature stalks over the fence for them. They think it's better than candy.

The cows are getting hungry. There's not much left on the pasture for them, so these corn stalks were a treat indeed. We'll be moving them to the wooded side of the property very soon, and feeding them hay.

Anyway I found a few -- very few -- ears that were mature enough to keep for seed corn. That's all I was hoping for.

In all, just seven ears of corn were mature enough. Seven. Still, I have lots and lots of corn canned up in my pantry, so seed corn is just fine with me.

Next step is to dry the ears. I pulled back but did not remove the shucks.

Then I tied string around the top of the ears...

...then suspended the cobs on the lintel above the pantry. By the way, the shucks serve no purpose except to keep the string on. You'll notice I accidentally snapped one cob off and had to awkwardly hang it with a string around the kernels.

These will dry for a few weeks, then I'll rub the kernels off and keep them for next year's seed.

Meanwhile I figured I'd best harvest the onions as well. I was hoping these would go to seed, but no such luck. Too late in the season at this point.

But the onions -- which I started from seeds, not sets -- were respectable in size.

Not too shabby on the onion harvest. My first successful crop grown from seed.

Picking potatoes and canning tomatoes

A friend with an overflowing garden invited me over to get a box of tomatoes for canning. I love going to her house because this woman has the greenest thumb of anyone I've ever met.

She has a picturesque shed with Virginia creeper growing over it.

While chatting, this friend asked if I wanted some potatoes, as she had far too many for herself. So we went to her potato bed and dug up a box of potatoes.

She had both red potatoes...

...and Yukon gold.

Many of them were huge!

I went home with a big box of potatoes, a pumpkin, and two boxes of tomatoes (one box of ripe tomatoes, and a box of green tomatoes).

Then a week went by before I had a chance to can the tomatoes. By this point some of the ripe ones were going bad...

...and many of the green tomatoes had ripened into red. Time to get these babies canned!

I started by washing some quart jars.

Then I boiled a pot of water and dropped in some tomatoes, to loosen the skins.

After being in the hot water for a few minutes, cool them in cold water.

Then the tomatoes are easy to peel. Here's a bowl of peeled tomatoes. Because they were over-ripe at this stage, they were verrrrrry juicy.

In fact, I like to drain them in a colander to remove some of the juice.

Then into the blender...

...for a quick chopping up.

All too-ripe tomatoes as well as the peels went into the compost pile.

I got five quarts of puréed tomatoes out of this batch.

Into the water-bath for twenty minutes.

Letting the jars cool before taking off the rings...

After the jars cool, the tomato parts separate from the amber liquid. Without draining the peeled tomatoes before canning them, there would be a lot more liquid!

Chuckle du jour

A friend sent me these.

And for the Luddites among us:

No, it is NOT dying

Here's an interesting article a reader sent me some time ago (thus proving I am still trying to catch up on past emails). It's about how marriage is a "dying" institution.

First of all, I would like to point out that the opinions of Hollywood actors/actresses very rarely reflect those of mainstream America. Let's face it, their lives (with few exceptions) are not normal.

Second, the person writing this article is a psychiatrist. In other words, his life's work is to fix (or declare unfixable) the problems of people who suffer, including those who suffer from broken marriages. Um, does this strike you as someone unbiased on the institute of marriage? If all he sees, day in and day out, are those who are unhappy in marriage, he's going to conclude that marriage does not lead to happiness.

He writes," As a healer, I can’t help looking askance at anything that depletes energy, optimism, mood and passion to the extent that marriage does. It is, without a doubt, one of the leading causes of major depression in the nation."

Okay, so then how do you explain people who ARE happily married? My folks have been married for 54 years and still hold hands. This couple was married 72 years and died holding hands. There are happily married couples everywhere -- if you open your eyes to see them.

Happiness in marriage stems from a number of things sorely lacking in today's society. Chastity until marriage has the amazing ability to keep one's vision clear about a prospective partner's qualities as well as faults. Nothing blinds someone more than lust. Common goals, common interests, common religious beliefs, and mutual respect for the other person are all contributing factors to a solid marriage.

But today's feel-good culture dictates wild living before marriage with no consideration about how that wild living can impact future stability in a marriage. Broken vows -- eh, who cares? It's just another "me first" behavior from a culture that supports "me first."

Obviously not all marriages deserved to be saved, but let's face it, the vast majority of people could avoid divorce by either (a) marrying the right person to begin with, and/or (b) treating their spouse as the treasure he or she is (instead of someone to nag or complain or nitpick to death).

This author points out one or two things I don't necessarily disagree with, but he draws the wrong conclusions. He ends by saying, "It’s only a matter of time now. Marriage will fade away. We should be thinking about what might replace it. We should come up with something that improves the quality of our lives and those of our children. And we should keep government out of it, if we know what’s good for us." [Emphasis added.]

Marriage has been around for literally thousands of years, since the dawn of civilized culture, and you want to replace it because a bunch of people in the last fifty years can't keep their vows? Huh?

Marriage itself is not a dying institution. Marriages may be dying because people no longer know how to choose the right partners, and no longer know how to keep vows... but the institution itself can and should live on. There is nothing -- nothing! -- that "improves the quality of our lives and those of our children" more than a secure and happy marriage. Nothing.

But I do agree we should keep government out of it.

Linked!

Here's a young lady who is quite a talented writer. She's 21, homeschooled, and lives on her parent's homestead in Tennessee. Recently she asked permission to reprint an article I wrote for Backwoods Home Magazine entitled Raising Kids Simply.

Here's a link to her blog, which is well worth exploring. Enjoy!

Drugging children

A reader posted this as a comment, but I didn't want it to get buried so I'm highlighting it here.
________________________________________

The other day someone at a store in our town read that a meth lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining town and asked a rhetorical question, " Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"

I replied that I had a drug problem when I was young. I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter what the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in my mom's garden and flower beds and cockle-burrs out of dad's fields. I was drug to the homes of family and friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the lawn, repair the clothesline or chop some firewood and if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

These drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I say, do or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack or heroin and if today's children had this kind of drug problem America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us.

Random pix

Lots of random pix from the last couple of weeks.

Fog. We've been having lots of foggy mornings. Very pretty stuff.

Lydia, watching a deer.

"What?"

Here's Polly, now a year old. Her white eye circles are starting to darken. She's just as sweet as ever.

Morning sun through the Virginia creeper leaves.

Lots of eggs lately.

Here's why. We keep finding hidden nests.

Major sneaks onto Younger Daughter's bed.

A quail keeping sentinel on a fencepost. I had to zoom in to maximum and do some color enhancement in order to see him.

I went for a walk last week and took photos along the way. Here are rosehips against a backdrop of pines.

We don't have spectacular fall colors because most of our trees are coniferous. Still, a lot of the underbrush changes color, which makes for a pretty, if subtle, tableau.

I passed by the slash pile from which we cut some firewood last year. Someone -- at last -- had set it on fire to burn it off. It's necessary to burn slash piles (once the weather permits, of course) to keep disease and pests from spreading.

However -- foolishly -- whoever set the slash pile on fire wasn't monitoring it. At the time I took these photos, the fire was only burning what it should be burning. (Believe me, I checked.) However a couple hours later, Don drove by and noticed a nearby tree had caught fire. We had to call the sheriff, who notified the landowner, who came and monitored the fire.

Back out of the woods and onto the prairie.

Our herd from a distance.

An early shaft of sun lights up an otherwise cloudy morning.

Full moon setting just before dawn.

Sunshine through the egg basket.

Our farm from a distance.

In town, I noticed this old building and thought it was pretty.

A deer at dawn.

A band of early morning mist highlights the neighbor's horses.