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A World of Weary Well-Doers

By
Tom Deighan
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Feeling unappreciated, unwanted, or unwelcomed in the post-Covid age?  You are not alone. 

Although this column focuses (mostly) on educational issues, this is not just a school issue. Just about anyone in a “service” position has been tempted to feel this way recently. Service positions include anyone from parents trying to mitigate the soul-crushing influence of social media on their children to business owners fighting to keep people employed during supply-chain issues. Front-line workers might feel the ugliness most, however, as frustrated people can explode over the most trivial of matters. If people rely on you for their livelihoods, their security, or even a fountain drink, you can probably relate. Find an empty corner. Hug your knees. Rock back and forth. Welcome to the fellowship.

We tend to focus on the more visible “servants” who have been targeted with meanness lately, but this fellowship transcends all professions and positions to include all servant-leaders. You feel called to not only do your job well but to also make people’s lives a little easier. You might just be doing your duty, but you treat people with grace and gentleness. In our post-COVID age, anyone who does this stands out, and if this describes your heart, you are a servant-leader.

You do not expect pats on the back. You find satisfaction in meeting the needs of those depending upon you. Whether that means getting someone’s coffee or processing an insurance claim or serving in a volunteer position, you find joy in the service, but it is increasingly harder to escape the temptation to feel unwanted, unappreciated, and unwelcomed. You never expected accolades or recognition, but you also never expected to be attacked, vilified or demonized. I have never witnessed this happen on such a grand scale. 

Remarkably, this can happen simply because someone works in a particular business, position, or profession. People put on their Cable News Goggles and just assume they have the right to dehumanize you. Consequently, many servant-leaders grow weary of well-doing. Losing faith in their calling. Questioning their value. Wondering if it is worth it. That’s scary, for when our servant-leaders weary of well-doing, then we face a world devoid of grace. 

If you currently feel unwelcomed, unwanted, or unappreciated, please know that you are not alone. Others like you are tempted to feel this way as well, and while that may be little comfort, I hope you realize that in times of darkness, grace abounds even more. Your kind word in the drive-thru lane. Your cheerful voice as you answer your company phone. Your gracious reply (or non-reply) to an email. You never know what may keep another person whole for a little while longer, for they are hurting, too, and hurt people hurt people. In time, the seeds of grace you faithfully sow may sprout eternal fruit in them, just as seeds of grace planted in us by others sustained us through tough times. The more you feel unwelcomed, unwanted, or unappreciated – the more you can certainly know you are needed, perhaps more than ever!  

Please do not weary in well-doing, servant-leaders, and whenever possible, make sure other servant-leaders know how much youwelcome, want, and appreciate them. They may not expect pats on the back, but the touch is welcomed, and everyone deserves to be noticed occasionally. In time, the bread you cast upon the waters will return to you for a feast of joy and reconciliation, kind of like a reverse supply chain of joy. You have been called for such a time as this, but if you must occasionally hug your knees and gently rock in the corner, that’s ok, too. You are in the best of company. 

Tom Deighan is superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Pollyanna and Evil Public Schools

By
Tom Deighan
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Local rivalries abound in public schools, where parents and students rally around their local mascots. Likewise, collegiate supporters bleed the colors of their alma mater.  Such wholesome rivalries create a sense of community and an opportunity to cheer on our kids and the corresponding cartoon characters. On a national scale, however, the rivalry is not nearly as good natured. We are told to see our local public schools exclusively through our Cable News Goggles, and when we do that, we can only see Pollyanna Public Schools or Evil Public Schools.  

The Pollyanna Public Schools (PPS) hero myth paints all public schools as perfectly motivated institutions in need of no improvement or innovation, regardless of the facts or outcomes. The only thing Pollyanna Public Schools need is more funding to achieve educational utopia. The Pollyanna Public School crowd demonizes all public-school critics as greedily motivated to destroy public schools at all costs. PPS heroes stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that anything is systemically wrong within public schools, even in the most egregious situations. 

The Evil Public Schools (EPS) villain myth, on the other hand, paints all public schools as corrupt and incompetent institutions with no redeemable qualities or outcomes, regardless of the impossible challenges or expectations they face. The only option for the EPS antagonist is to dismantle public schools entirely and give more public funds to private entities. The Evil Public Schools crowd asserts that public school supporters are only motivated by greed and protecting existing educational power structures at all costs. The EPS villain stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that the school district does anything right, even when presented with truly stellar examples.  

Predictably, both sides faithfully scream, “Keep politics out of education!” And both sides profess to be fighting “For the Kids!” Nevertheless, both sides willingly ignore the obvious complexities of kid-level situations because nuance does not lend itself to high drama.  Few educators, however, have any Pollyannish delusions about their public schools, and likewise, few parents think their local educators are evil. Our modern Cable News Goggles focus almost exclusively on the extremes, incessantly keeping parents and educators on edge. It sure seems like we are being forced to choose between either a progressive march toward Marxism or a progressive march toward crony capitalism. 

Unfortunately, the kid-level voices of common-sense parents and educators disappear in the din of extremists. Ultimately, the PPS and EPS perspectives are simply two sides of the same political coin, for neither side has much of a message besides demonizing each other and asking for more money, without accountability.  One side refuses to consider any model wherein money follows the kid.  The other side rejects the idea of any public rules following the money as it is passed without oversight to private entities.  

Critics of public schools have many valid points, especially after the issues that developed during the pandemic.  Champions of public schools also have valid points, and most educators are dedicated, selfless professionals. Yet, the endless back-and-forth between PPS and EPS has resulted in stacks of legislation unrelated to the three R’s and seemingly designed to control kid-level options.  On one hand, legislation forces people to celebrate what they should tolerate in a free society, and on the other hand, legislation restricts people from tolerating much individual freedom at all. 

Local parents working with their local educators can work miracles, but both sides will need to cede a little more local control for this to happen. The conditions, causes, or solutions are rarely simple, so let’s take off our Cable News Goggles when we look at our neighborhood schools, parents, and educators.  They probably aren’t evil or Pollyannish, but they are undoubtedly dedicated to the local mascot, and as long as we can agree about cartoon characters, we have hope.  Please pray for kid-level wisdom, and please pray for the safety of our schools this Second Sunday of the Month. 

Tom Deighan is author of Shared Ideals in Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Plan Now to Pray for Schools

By
Tom Deighan
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Summertime for churches is similar to summertime in schools.  It is a time of recharging, but summer is also a critical planning time.  Little happens in the fall or spring without intense planning in the summers, which is why this is the perfect time to discuss formal plans for Second Sunday School Safety Prayer (or S4 Prayer).  Perhaps, it can become a tradition that spreads.

This monthly call to prayer originally arose after Sandy Hook, but this is only partly about school shootings, which are worst-case scenarios. On a practical level, school safety is a more complex community issue, and the acronym S.C.H.O.O.L.S. describes it perfectly: safe, caring, healthy, open, orderly, learning, spaces.  All parents, educators, and students want safe schools, and all communities and faith-based organizations want S.C.H.O.O.L.S., too.  Common ground in 2022?

Parents first want to know that the school is safe, caring, and healthy.  Only then can S.C.H.O.O.L.S. be open and welcoming places that foster high standards of behavior to ensure orderly, open learning spaces where children can flourish. Second Sunday School Safety Prayer (S4 Prayer), therefore, is about much more than simply praying for protection from evil people; it’s about praying for the essence of your local schools and entire community.  

Like it or not, your local schools are a perfect reflection of your community, much like Wal-Mart.  Ninety-five percent of your families attend local public schools, and I bet 95% shop at Wal-Mart; they both serve everyone who shows up.  You might not like what you see, but what you see in the mirror is usually the best you got!  Schools (and Wal-Mart) only reflect what is in the mirror, so if we desire to see change, those changes must also be reflected in the whole community. 

Praying regularly for your local schools’ safety, therefore, is prayer for everything that matters.  Your children, your parents, your community, and your culture.  Parents want S.C.H.O.O.L.S. wherein all children feel loved, and all children graduate adult-ready. This only happens when communities are in alignment.  Even in 2022, nothing can align a community faster than the involvement (or indifference) of its faith-based organizations. For positive change, we must prioritize consistent, targeted prayer for our schools on a truly broad scale. Schools cannot make this happen.  Only the faith community can organize this, and in an age when we cannot seem to agree on anything, praying for school safety seems like an easy start.

Praying monthly for S.C.H.O.O.L.S. may not seem like much, but whenever we pray for people, our attitudes often change first as we think and feel differently about them.  From that, relationships grow, and lives change. In an age when no one seems to agree on anything, we need to find something that brings us together.  Ultimately, however, we should not pray for S.C.H.O.O.L.S. because it unites us or makes us feel good.  We should do it because prayer works, and when our local faith community agrees in prayer about something so important – in an age when agreement is so rare – nothing is impossible.

America has certainly rediscovered the importance of public schools, but instead of seeking solutions, we have turned schoolyards into political battle zones. Where are the peacemakers if they are not in our churches?  Perhaps, a simple prayer every second Sunday of the Month for the safety of our schools is a good first step because like it or not, public schools matter to all of us, even if we do not like what we see in that mirror.  So, please pray this second Sunday for the safety of our schools in the upcoming year – and please plan now to do this every month during the school year. Let’s decide now to make S4 Prayer a monthly tradition.  Who knows what we will see in the mirror (or at Wal-Mart) a year from now? 

Tom Deighan is author of Shared Ideals in Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Drowning Ducks and First Day Jitters

By
Tom Deighan
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Earlier this week, I thoroughly confused DPS staff with this story about drowning ducks. As young newlyweds, my wife and I visited a lake for the afternoon, and I saw a couple of ducks badgering another duck. The poor little guy could barely hold its head out of the water, so in my most manly voice I squealed, “Renee!  They’re drowning him. Save him!”  Renee immediately sprang into action, but on the way to save that duck, she slipped in the mud, ruining her brand-new white Reeboks. Of course, the duck was fine, but I shared this story to illustrate two important principles:

First principle: When someone relies on you to be calm, and you panic, they will abandon all reason and run into a lake to save a drowning duck. 

Second principle: Ducks don’t drown easily, so don’t be too quick to run into the lake and ruin your Reeboks, even when your crazy husband is screaming. (On the other hand, when ducks really do start drowning, it’s serious!)  

We hoped for a normal school year, but like clockwork, COVID once again reared its ugly head, and this year may be more uncertain than ever. The urge to panic is real, but I want to be sure the ducks are drowning this time before I send her into the lake to ruin another pair of Reeboks.

Yes, we face uncertainty again, but we have been on this road for some 500 days. I cannot make sense of dueling narratives on the news channels, but I know we kept schools safely open last year, and we did this without a vaccine. We also saw relatively little spread last year in the schools, like the studies we reviewed last summer. The State quarantined a lot of healthy people, but we rarely ever had 50 or more confirmed positive cases in our schools at any given time, even at the peak. Despite quarantining over 2,500 students and staff last year, we managed to keep school open safely. So far, quarantines have not resumed.

If last year is our guide, and we do not send healthy people home to quarantine, this is more manageable than last year. If last year is our guide, we will see very limited spread in schools. If last year is our guide, without vaccines, then we are better prepared to face this year. If last year is our guide, we are some hard-to-drown ducks!  Nevertheless, we do not have the same options we had last year. We also have more people in our buildings. This year certainly could be worse, much worse, so we should be ready. 

We will not panic, however, because ducks rarely drown. We will do what is necessary to keep DPS staff and students safe. If necessary, we will close schools. If necessary, we will go virtual. If necessary, we will limit visitors and events. And if necessary, we might even go rogue because when ducks everywhere are drowning, all options must be on the table. But let’s not ruin our white Reeboks just yet, for we are nowhere near the COVID peak we saw last year. The most important thing we can do right now is to stay home if sick. That is our first and most important line of defense. 

Our students rely on us parents and educators for reassurance and certainty. COVID is real, and it is deadly, but we have 500 days of past COVID perspective. We know more and have more tools than we did last year. Yes, the Delta and the other dozen variants may truly upend everything, and if so, we will respond accordingly. We cannot panic, however, for if we panic, our students have no hope of a normal school year. Trust me, when ducks start drowning, I will be the first one screaming, but until then, let’s keep our Reeboks dry. Above all, please stay home when sick, and please continue to pray for the safety of our schools this second Sunday of the month.  

Tom Deighan is currently the superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com You may read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

The Right of Parental Input and Output

By
Tom Deighan
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0

I have never visited a hot dog factory, but I have been warned against it by people who refuse to eat hot dogs afterwards.  Apparently, lots of stuff can go into a hot dog, and none of it looks like something you would slap on the grill, so the input does not match the output. I rarely buy hot dogs because I ate too many in college. (Seriously, the cheap ones were sometimes four packages for a dollar!) Nevertheless, toss a few on the grill, and I still find them hard to resist.  Something about animal lips and mustard!

Come to think of it, schools are like hot dog factories because the tiny tots that entered Pre-K do not always resemble the graduates we produce, but there is a clear difference between hot dog factories and schools. It is a matter of input and output.  Factories have full control of whatever enters and exits the manufacturing process, but schools can never exercise complete control over input or output, for those are ultimately parental rights.  Parents have the right to know everything introduced into their children’s education, and they also have the right to everything their child produces during that education. No individual parent can unilaterally decide policy, curriculum, or library books for everyone, but when it comes to your child, you have the ultimate right of input and output.  

Regarding input, nothing should ever be taught, introduced, or presented to school children without parental access to the information, parental knowledge, or parental assent.  Parents rarely demand to preview everything, because they are busy, but everything should be available if they ever ask for it.  And above all, parents should always be notified beforehand if something is potentially controversial, sensitive, or age inappropriate – to ensure parents can opt out their children for religious, moral, or cultural reasons. 

Likewise, parents always deserve full disclosure regarding the output. Anything a child says, produces, or discloses in a school must be provided, available, or accessible to the parents. This includes not only classwork but also potentially harmful or sensitive issues, so parents can be involved in the solution. One of the biggest mistakes an educator can make is withholding sensitive information from a parent, even if the motive is good. Parents have a right to know information about their children that is uncovered in school, even if it is unpleasant or difficult to discuss.

Of course, in extreme cases involving the safety of the child, parents may be temporarily excluded from input and/or output, but this is the exception and not the norm, and it involves the appropriate authorities. Normally, all parents deserve full access and disclosure to both input and output related to their children. When this happens, schools run well, and parental rights are upheld and respected. Parents and educators trust each other. Furthermore, when parents have access to all input and output, they can make the best educational decisions for their children, based on factors that only a parent can know. Thankfully, most parents and educators understand this partnership, despite what you may see in the news.  

Making hotdogs and making graduates are both messy processes, but unlike hotdog factories, schools do not fully control the manufacture of their future graduates.  Our “hot dogs” also enter the factory cuter than when they exit, so I suppose schools are backwards hotdog factories.  They enter as bubbly cuties and exit as moody teenagers!  

Another big difference: our factories are open for inspection by parents. You really should see your hot dogs being made, every darn step. You will not always like or agree with everything in your local school, but when it comes to your children, you can expect full disclosure about the input and the output.  It is a fundamental parental right, and if schools ever forget that, we have lost our way.  On the other hand, if you start demanding to know what’s in your hot dogs . . . well, you’re just asking for trouble.  Sometimes, ignorance (or mustard) is bliss.  

Tom Deighan is superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Pull-ups and Equal Opportunity in Public Schools

By
Tom Deighan
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This is the seventh in a series of ten summertime articles mapping the common ground upon which parents, educators, and communities can unite regarding one of the most divisive topics in America: public education.

When I was in elementary school, we took The Presidential Physical Fitness Award test each year, but I could not do a pull-up to save my life. My friend Stefan, however, could do about twenty of them. As much as I wanted the award, I wanted the pull-up more. That pull-up bar provided us all with equal opportunity, but it certainly did not guarantee equal outcomes, for few of us could do a pull-up. I certainly hated that bar, but not near as much as I wanted to cut down the stupid climbing rope!

That test no longer exists, but it certainly highlights another area of common ground for parents and educators: equal opportunity for all students. Virtually everything in a public school has some sort of measurement – from the arts to attendance to math tests – providing students opportunities to shine. They also provide students with a chance to fail, which is just as important a life lesson. In elementary school, I also learned that I was a terrible clarinetist, and I am thankful that I did not waste any more of my life splitting reeds. 

Parents and educators want their children to succeed more than anything else, but they also understand that no child shines in every area. They may succeed or fail, but no one can be guaranteed an outcome. We cannot fix everything outside the school, but once inside the school, every child must be afforded equal opportunity. I believe that parents and educators agree on most issues, and I believe that equal opportunity is one of them.  It is a bedrock principle that binds parents and educators together. 

Unfortunately, our national discourse seems to be driven by extreme views on this issue. Some seem to insist on secret or hidden pull-up bars, as if they are afraid some people might succeed. Others seem to demand entirely adjustable pull-up bars to ensure everyone can do a pull-up. Neither extreme is compatible with the ideal of equal opportunity. Denying equal opportunity for all children is wrong, and demanding equal outcomes is just as unfair. 

The funny thing about pull-ups is that no matter how high the bar, a pull-up is still a pull-up. Lower that bar enough, and the pull-up becomes the stand-up. Lower it even further, and it becomes a limbo bar or a tripping hazard. The only way to guarantee equal outcome is not by lowering expectations but by eliminating them altogether. We cannot ensure success for everyone, but we can certainly restrict children’s chances to excel. This is true for pull-ups and for clarinetists who sound like cats caught under rocking chairs (my signature style). We all want our children to succeed in everything, but they cannot. Childhood is the opportunity to take risks within the safety nets of loving families, protective schools, and supporting communities. Abundant chances to both succeed and fail, that is how we raise adult-ready graduates.

I don’t know where Stefan is right now, but I bet he can still out pull-up me. I don’t know where my band teacher is, either, but I am sure he is somewhere in a corner rocking back-and-forth. I am confident, however, that parents and educators almost universally agree about equal opportunity, for they make it work every day in most schools. As a humble product of common-sense public schools, I appreciate so many opportunities to fail and to succeed. Most of all, God Bless you parents and educators who continue to find common ground every day on this and other issues so critical to our state and nation. 

Tom Deighan is the current superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com

In Oklahoma, The School is the Community

By
Tom Deighan
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This is the final in a series of ten summertime articles that stubbornly insist that 80% of parents and 80% of educators actually agree on 80% of all issues (my 80/80/80 rule). Unfortunately, schools have become ground-zero for the culture wars, and national leaders from both sides seem to be strategically pitting parents against educators. Please remember that these talking heads know nothing about your local community, and in Oklahoma, your local public school is the community. 

Visit any local school basketball game, bingo night, or band concert and you will know that community. Want to know your neighbors or fellow worshippers? Visit the school cafeteria during lunch, and for a truly deep dive, substitute!  Because in Oklahoma, the local school is not only a perfect reflection of the local community, it is the community. This is just as true for inner city neighborhoods as it is for rural schools miles away from any town. Unfortunately, we are being inundated with stories about extreme agendas (from both sides) that terrify many parents, educators, and communities in Oklahoma. 

One extreme seems to think all parents are incompetent, so parents should sit down and shut up when radical ideologues attempt to usurp or undermine parental rights. Educators with such radical views exist, but they do not represent most Oklahoma educators. Radical agendas are nothing new to public schools, so many of us educators are thankful that people are engaging. Please don’t assume that a few national leaders represent the views of your neighbor or pew partner who works in your public school.   

The other extreme seems to think that all educators are incompetent (or evil), so public schools should be entirely dismantled and the funds funneled to for-profit companies. I have never met a parent who thinks their local school is perfect, but I also cannot remember ever meeting one who wants their local school closed or managed by a corporation. Most Oklahomans scratch their heads about those districts on the news because they know their local school staff so well. 

Remember, your local school is not only a mirror of your local children but also local adults who work there. The 80/80/80 applies to communities, too, but the media focuses relentlessly on the 10% of extreme issues on the left and the right. They dismiss sensible people who keep things running and interact without demonizing each other as part of the problem, but I do not believe Oklahomans must choose between Marxism or crony capitalism. Most Oklahomans widely agree on issues such as the preeminence of the parent, adult-ready graduates, safety and security, social engineering, equal rights and equal opportunity, public money/public rules, and local control. This summer’s articles on those topics are archived at www.mostlyeducational.com if you wish to read them. 

I am not naïve. Some of this nationwide craziness is certainly happening in Oklahoma, but most Oklahoma school districts welcome parents and community members with questions, so just talk to your superintendent, principal, or teacher if you have any doubts. Virtually everything in Oklahoma schools are open records (except student and personnel records), and most are already online, so there are too many eyes on schools to hide anything for long. Besides, in my experience, neither kids nor staff can keep secrets very well. 

School starts soon in Oklahoma, and we face some weighty issues, but I pray that communities can use their dwindling local control to run the gauntlet together, as neighbors, relatives, friends, and fellow worshippers . . . with the civility that characterizes Oklahomans. Yours is likely the typical Oklahoma community and the typical Oklahoma school, so please watch battling news outlets with a critical eye. And if you have any doubts about your local school, go to a ballgame or a school board meeting. I also bet they need substitutes, if you’re interested. 

Tom Deighan is the current Superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com

Saving Us Dumb Locals from Ourselves

By
Tom Deighan
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0

Far away in an undisclosed coffeehouse, a hero in a white hat squints and looks suspiciously up at the rising sun. A kerfuffle is rumored among rubes in a faraway village, and nothing . . . absolutely nothing . . . worries a high-noon stranger like a bunch of local yokels facing the terrors of our modern world. A white horse soon appears. A quick pic for social media, and our hero drives away while a handler returns the horse to a waiting trailer to follow. Time to save us dumb locals from ourselves. 

Historically, Americans have always doubted the motives of self-identified heroes, but lately we seem to have succumbed to the hype. They predictably invade our towns and schoolyards for mock battle, and just as quickly move on for the next town, confident that they have made the world a better place by spotlighting an isolated, local, and complicated issue as a universal blight on our entire nation. The Twitterverse explodes. Facebook looks on in disgust. Tik-Tokers eat laundry detergent. 

Whatever the issue, local yokels must never fear!  Far away heroes from opposing sides will step in to fix our city councils, school boards, and main streets. They often swarm virtually, their manicured thumbs tapping away in outrage, but occasionally, they even make phone calls. If it’s something truly serious, however, like Dr. Suess poisoning our youth, the truly elite heroes stop just outside of town while hired hands un-trailer their white horses, so they can gallantly ride into town without a hair out of place.

Like never before, our communities, small towns, and schoolyards have become battlegrounds for faraway elites with deep pockets and obscure motives. While most Americans are concerned about silly issues like the economy, inflation, and school safety, these new saviors run unchecked and celebrated through our social media world. They always boast a vast local constituency, even when no locals recognize them. It’s just another high-noon standoff for them in an unknown town sure to produce collateral damage among people far too simple to understand their historic mission. Sure, local communities and schools have been dealing with these issues successfully without their help for years, but never waste a crisis, and when there is no crisis, create one.    

Not long ago, such high-noon strangers rode in, made a lot of noise, and disappeared. They only had blanks in their guns, so no harm, but now, they ruin lives, careers, and relationships. When the dust settles, locals are left empty, embittered, and betrayed. Meanwhile, outside of town, they trailer their horses and move on to the next backwater hotspot. A savior’s work is never done, and lattes are getting cold.

This new breed of elitist central planners have not yet rediscovered the futility of micromanaging local affairs. Self-proclaimed heroes rarely find the support they seek, so they inevitably devolve into their own form of tyranny, whether by governmental or mob decree. Tacit agreement with either orthodoxy is no longer enough, so normal folks keep their heads down and avoid eye-contact. No matter what you say or how you say it, it’s not good enough. We can no longer merely tolerate differences or partially agree – we must fervently celebrate and participate to prove allegiance. Most Americans hate being told what to do, even if they agree, but this has gotten out of hand. 

There will always be a need for far-away perspectives and experts, but everything is eventually a local issue. Local news. Local problems. Local solutions. Local responsibility. Of course, our new heroes champion these things, as long as locals bow obediently to the upheaval in our schools and communities under threat of national attention or cancellation. When it’s all over, local yokels must scoop up the messes left by these self-appointed heroes’ gallant white steeds. That’s now our role. Ironically enough, our only options after all their damage: blow up Twitter, slap Facebook, or eat Tide Pods. Maybe those Tik-Tokers have the answer, after all.

Tom Deighan is a public educator and author of Shared Ideals in Public Schools. You may email him at deighantom@gmail.com

Toby Dawn’s Fall Fireworks Prediction

By
Tom Deighan
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The doorbell rang shortly after sunrise. Barely awake, I scurried to the door, but no one there . . . just a faint burning smell that I recognized a split second too late. Pop! Pop! Pop!  And so it started, my annual fireworks battle with my lifelong friend and childhood hero, Toby Dawn McIntyre. He loves Independence Day, and each year, he starts his surprise attacks with a bang.  

Toby has booby-trapped doors, trash cans, and even my sock drawer.  Roman candles in the grill . . . whistling chasers tossed from moving cars . . . and, somehow, underwater fireworks.  No place is safe. Once he tethered a fishing line to my back porch and hid in my neighbors’ tree as he ziplined explosive after explosive to our peaceful cookout. When our neighbors let their dogs out, however, Toby was stuck, and we had great fun with our garden hoses. Don’t worry, no one ever gets hurt except Toby Dawn.  “Eyebrows grow back, Tommy Boy!”

As I celebrate Independence Day, however, I worry about the political fireworks ahead this fall. Predictably, new and terrifying strains of COVID are surfacing, but this year it is exacerbated by an incredibly divisive political season.  The familiar mask-or-no-mask battleline is already forming, and if history repeats itself, we can expect renewed calls for schools to close sometime later this month. (Just a hundred weeks or so to flatten the curve.) I am not sure if this slow fuse leads to a lady finger or an M-80, but if history repeats itself, the start of school will be the opening salvo. For the kids! 

The topic of education has never been more relevant or more divisive. Parents are being told to put on their Gotham City Shades, assured that everything bad they hear about in faraway big cities is also happening in their evil neighborhood schools.  Educators are being told to irrationally resist any changes in public schools, because of course, all public schools are perfect (or would be if we had more funding.) 

Meanwhile, rational parents and educators know better, despite the dire warnings of the Evil Public Schools or the Pollyanna Public Schools crowds. The radical one-percent of extremists, from both sides, continue to set just about everything on fire.  “I warned you about those Flaming Pennies;” Toby reminds me often, “they will burn the world down this election season to make a point!”  Common sense parents and educators, however, are starting to recognize much of these arguments as duds, because neither message describes many of our schools.  

I recently received fifteen fliers about candidates in one day, but none of them were sent by the candidates. In a year of unprecedented dark money impacting state and local elections, I have been fearful about the fireworks to come, but Oklahoman’s have impressed me.  We are stubborn, and we do not like faraway activists telling us how to vote.  A few high-profile dark money campaigns were effective, but overall, Oklahomans have made up their own darned mind.  Nothing makes an Okie bow-up faster than someone from Gotham City telling us how to vote, even if we agree.  

Yes, the fireworks will begin full force with the start of school, leading to a grand finale in November, but maybe, this season will reveal a brighter and more hopeful brand of fireworks: Oklahomans lighting up all this dark money with common sense and thoughtful determination. Oklahomans are too smart to vote locally while wearing their Cable News Goggles or Gotham City Shades. 

According to Toby Dawn McIntyre, “Anyone can blow stuff up, but only a skillful person can use fireworks to bring people together.”  Of course, this wisdom comes from a large red-haired man with only one eyebrow.  Nevertheless, as Fourth of July fireworks fade away, get ready for the real light show as school starts. All this dark money will surely make the fireworks brighter and more dazzling. Lets’ just hope all these flaming pennies don’t light some really destructive fires in our state, for they won’t be around to clean up the mess.     

Tom Deighan is author of Shared Ideals in Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

Open Schools Versus Preemptive Closures

By
Tom Deighan
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0

January 7, 2022 by Tom Deighan

Once again , schools across our nation are preemptively closing due to COVID-19.  Yes, closing is always an option for Duncan Public Schools, but we will stay open as long as we can safely do so. We will continue to face this pandemic as we have from the beginning. If we close a single site or the entire district, we will close for a defined period due to actual conditions. Our children need the structure, safety, and normalcy of open schools. We have faced this threat before, and we will face it again, together.  

Hundreds of schools in our nation preemptively extended their Christmas Breaks, and who can blame them? We are in our third school year with COVID, and national educational leaders still exert intense pressure on schools to close, terrifying parents and staff.  Due to endless media reports of school closings, I suspect much of our nation is unaware that schools have been open safely since the beginning of this pandemic.  No wonder parents and educators across this nation are still terrified to fully commit to in-person, full-time instruction in the age of COVID.

We know that schools have been open from the beginning – not just during the current 2021-22 school year but last year (2020-21) – and yes, even during the spring of 2020! Wyoming and Montana reportedly did not preemptively close schools, even as the majority of other states preemptively closed (including Oklahoma.)  Yet, by the summer of 2020, we had solid research from Europe suggesting that schools could be safely open, and it was correct. Why don’t we hear about more research and the thousands of schools that have been open safely during all of this?  Why don’t we reassure these parents, educators, and students with the evidence available at this time?

We now have literally thousands of models available to reassure fearful parents and educators that full-time, in-person instruction is not only safe but also prevents the negative social, psychological, and academic impacts of long term, preemptive closures. I suspect that parents and educators may be unaware of how many schools have offered full-time, in-person instruction. Even if they are in an open school, I suspect they believe open schools are the exception – not the rule 

Rather than focus on the current slate of closures, perhaps we should reframe our national discussion as we prepare for the 2022-23 school year.  If we can somehow raise awareness of open schools (or just acknowledge them) – we may not have to constantly struggle against the pressure to preemptively close schools. Where are the studies, the examples, the research, and the data about all these schools that have stayed open? Why aren’t national leaders helping parents and educators welcome their students back with confidence?  Where is the proof that preemptive closures have worked? 

The fear and reality of COVID-19 is real.  It terrifies me every day at some level as a superintendent, and closure of our sites or entire district for the safety of our students and staff is always an option.  As we prepare for the 2022-23 school year, however, this is the time to settle the issue of full-time, in-person learning versus preemptive closures. 

No school is a model for how to manage COVID, especially not Duncan Public schools, but national experts can surely knit together some best practices from the thousands of schools who have stayed open during this nightmare. Districts who have been open feel alone, and districts who are closing preemptively feel alone. That is not necessary as we face our fourth school year with COVID.  May God protect our schools, children, and staff once again as we enter another fearful time, but may we also face any challenges with confidence, experience and wisdom . . . for that is how we want our students to face the world.

Tom Deighan is superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. You may email him at  deighantom@gmail.com and read past articles at www.mostlyeducational.com

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