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Adult-Ready Graduates

By
Tom Deighan
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This is second 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. 

Over my career, I have shared the stage with thousands of graduates, and I invariably run into a few after graduation. One encounter at the local athletic store stands out because it was the very next morning. He introduced himself, and we made some small talk about the ceremony, but finally, he just blurted it out, “I don’t know what to do!”  Such is the AHA! moment of graduation. 

Many students graduate with a plan of some sort, but many others live so passionately in adolescence that adulting sneak attacks them as they step onto the stage for their diploma, and they can barely walk. All graduates feel the weight of “What are you going to do after graduation?”  It’s already a ton of bricks, so they really don’t need the constant reminder. (As if we all had a plan when we were eighteen!)

Parents feel the same way, so it is a moment of truth for them both. Parents invariably wonder if they prepared their children, and the newly minted graduates invariably wish they had paid more attention. Despite all our talk of generation gaps, none exists at this moment when both parents and graduates see the entire PK-12 educational assembly line with crystal clarity, and they realize that public schools are the most ambitious of factories: adult factories. 

Of course, we extol the virtue of learning, the passion of the arts, and the thrill of competitions. We love the fun stuff, endure the hard stuff, and cuss the crazy stuff. Ultimately, however, graduates are our final product, and every parent and every child want the same outcome from that factory: functioning adulthood. Over the years, I have described this many ways, from college and career ready to career-bound citizens, but whatever we call it, we need adult-ready graduates. 

Definitions of adult-ready vary greatly from child to child and from family to family, but parents and educators agree on the essentials more than they disagree. I suppose the 80/80/80 rule – 80% of parents and 80% educators agree on 80% of educational issues – applies to kids as well. No one has better clarity on this topic than a recent graduate or their parent because when we backward design school from graduation, education is a much simpler process. Remarkably, we can generally agree on a few core essentials.

Every child needs to graduate ready to enter the adult world to the best of their abilities. They may further their education, get a job, enter the military, or start a business, but they need to be ready for those next steps. They also need to be good neighbors who can fulfill their civic duties. They often kick and scream during the manufacturing process, but upon graduation, these things suddenly matter. More are ready than not because all that nagging from teachers and parents bubbles up just when they need it. If previous generations could pull it together, this generation can, too. (We were a hot mess back in the day, and we know it.)

And as for that terrified young man?  Our discussion occurred at the athletic store where he had worked through high school, and I knew that any kid who shows up to work the morning after graduation would be fine. I eventually lost track of him, but he stepped into adulthood as we all did, with a little fear and trembling, and he figured it out. I have no doubt he is successful, perhaps even preparing to place his own children on the educational assembly line, wondering who they will be when they grow up. The simplest answer, from whatever perspective, is simple: an adult. Just imagine what our public schools could accomplish if we could start where we agree and work backwards to ensure graduates are truly adult-ready. If you doubt it is that simple, just ask a recent graduate.  

Tom Deighan is a public educator and currently serves as Superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com

Wacky Waving Toby Dawn

By
Tom Deighan
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Nothing . . . absolutely nothing raises the ire of my lifelong friend and childhood hero more than a school bus drive around. He claims to have once been a school bus driver, but in reality, he merely borrowed one on our 5th grade field trip. Nevertheless, that experience created a sense of fellowship with all pupil pilots, so if he ever sees a stop arm violation, he goes “Toby Dawn” on the driver. He puffs up. He stretches out. He gyrates, waves his arms in the air, and screams like an injured cat. Picture our tall, red-headed Toby Dawn hollering like a fool in the middle of the road at the lowly offenders. “You gotta get their attention, Tommy Boy!”

People occasionally allege that Toby Dawn is fictional, but I assure you that nothing is more real than a wacky waving Toby Dawn defending a school bus. And if it reminds you of something you’ve seen at local used car dealers and tax preparation offices, that’s because Toby Dawn McIntyre modelled the original inflatable flailing tube man. He reportedly even earns a commission from every single one, which might explain why he has been so excited about the recent NOPE movie that features so many Toby Dawns flailing about in the field.

Every August, however, he makes cameo appearances in school districts across the nation whenever some absent-minded driver commits a stop-arm violation. He leaps into traffic and violently waves his arms and shouts. Air horns. Confetti poppers. Silly string on the windshield, and occasionally, roman candles. Kids on the bus love it, but it terrifies the drivers, and not necessarily the bad ones. “Sometimes, things get out of hand when I’m strobing,” he confesses. (Strobing is Toby’s term for his wacky, waving arm display. Oddly fitting.)

Toby is the first to admit, however, that a giant Irishman strobing in the middle of the road is not the best solution for drive-arounders. “I ain’t Santa Claus; I can’t be everywhere, Mr. Superintendent.”  (He refuses to accept that I have returned to the classroom.) Nevertheless, he has a brilliant solution: install a giant, wacky waving arm Toby Dawn on each school bus. Whenever someone breaks the sacred cheese wagon code, a menacing tube man inflates to frighten and intimidate offending motorists. 

He has formally proposed his giant inflatable tube man several times to the National Transportation Safety Board as the ultimate deterrent for drive-arounds, but the NTSB keeps rejecting it. Thankfully, his other idea – replacing the stop arms with a giant chainsaw – has been rejected, too. Toby understands that many school buses now have cameras, but “Either a giant Toby or chainsaw would stop this overnight,” he claims. Toby’s not wrong; we need something dramatic to protect kids from stop-arm violators. Maybe something in between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Gumby. I wonder if school districts just couldn’t post the videos online?

I cannot imagine anyone purposely driving around a loading or unloading school bus, but I shudder at the possibility of a kiddo popping out. It’s the sort of thing that keeps bus drivers (and Toby) up at night. Thankfully, school buses are the safest form of transportation on the planet . . . inside the bus. Drivers speeding around the bus are another matter, so as school starts this year, let’s imagine a giant Toby Dawn McIntyre in the road. If the flashing lights don’t get your attention, a wacky waving McIntyre might. Nevertheless, he cannot be everywhere, so until the NTSB installs menacing inflatable tube men on all school buses, we must be uber careful. Drivers keep kids safe on the inside; we must keep them safe on the outside. 

Hopefully, next time you see an inflatable flailing Toby Dawn, it’s at a car dealership. Meanwhile, please pray that the NTSB keeps rejecting at least one of Toby Dawn’s school bus drive around solutions, and please pray for the safety of our students this Second Sunday of the month.

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

Easter: The Emptiest Holiday

By
Tom Deighan
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Marshmallow Peeps are the epitome of dietary emptiness – pure sugar, whipped into a fluffy puff, then dipped in more sugar. Confection perfection!  Peeps are my favorite Easter candy, and they cap off The Season of Eating that starts in late September and sweetly saunters on for the next six months. Halloween . . . Thanksgiving . . . Christmas . . . Valentines . . . and finally Easter. And candy is at the heart of it all!   Those empty, barren calories with no nutritional value. The more we eat, the more we want. The Fattening Five offer an uninterrupted stream of dietary nothingness . . . and I love every minute of it, especially Easter, because we save the best candy for last. 

Halloween candy impresses due to sheer volume, but the good stuff is gone too quickly, that is, if the trick-or-treaters even get it. If I am guarding the candy bowl, you can be sure the good stuff goes in my bag, but before Thanksgiving arrives, we are picking through the last of the candy-corn and Dum-Dums. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is a bit of a bust on the candy front, but thankfully, chocolate Santas start hitting the shelves. And if all else fails, pumpkin pie satisfies in a pinch. 

Christmas and Valentine’s Day candy are much better than Halloween candy, but they fall short of perfection for one simple reason: gotcha candies from those fancy gift boxes. When I bite into a chocolate, I should not be surprised, much less with raspberry crème. All the leftover candies with small exploratory dents or bites are an annual public health hazard. There should be a Surgeon General’s warning on any so-called chocolate with crème filling. We might as well fill them with ribbon candy.

But Easter candy, simply the best!  Almost all of it has chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, or marshmallow in it. Amazing Peeps, giant Reese’s Eggs, chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies, and the mysterious Cadbury fluid, and who knew that MM’s taste better in pastels?  The only way it could get any better is with it all combined into some sort of chocolate bunny dipped in sugar. As a matter of fact, the worst candy Easter has to offer is the colorful jelly bean. Not too shabby, Mr. Easter Bunny. 

Next week, after I eat the last jellybeans and marshmallow chicks, I will be sad to see The Season of Eating end. I will not only miss the sweets, but I will also need to shed five pounds and to recuperate from six months of shameful, regretful calories. But that is not the only emptiness Easter has to offer, for it is the emptiest holiday of all!  

The most amazing emptiness in history occurs on Easter: the empty tomb, from which broken and ashamed people have emerged forgiven and repurposed for two-thousand years. In its emptiness, we discover fullness of joy and redemption. For just like Easter candy, Christ also saves the best for last, sometimes following our darkest despair. On that spring morn so long ago, He conquered death and the grave, forever exchanging our heavy sorrow for the joyful emptiness of His tomb. So, no matter where you are or what you are dealing with, let Easter remind you that He always saves the best for last, and transforms sorrow to joy. Unlike the empty Easter candy we love so much, however, the emptiness of Easter fills us with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

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

Watch out for Post-COVID Stress Disorder

By
Tom Deighan
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After a year of being locked up, masked up, and hyped up, things are actually looking up. Since Spring Break, COVID cases have dropped precipitously in schools and across Oklahoma. People are starting to travel and go to places like the movies for the first time since this started. Summer even looks like it might be somewhat normal; we might even have fireworks for the Fourth!  COVID-free skies certainly seem to be ahead, but that does not mean this ordeal is behind us because in addition to being locked up, masked up, and hyped up – a lot of emotions are also pent up. As a result, we are starting to see fireworks much earlier than usual as we look forward to summer.

When I worked as an EMT, I remember panicked people arriving at the hospital behind the ambulance. Fear and concern consumed each of them, and often, someone was able to relieve their fears quickly. Curiously enough, this good news did not always produce relief and joy in them. Sometimes, upon discovering that everyone was safe, the fireworks really started! Sometimes they exploded in tears and sometimes in rage over the smallest thing. I remember an otherwise rational man shattering a hospital snack machine over a stuck bag of chips. We got free snacks that night, but I also learned that we never really know how traumatic experiences will affect us, so we need to be ready for unexpected emotions as COVID ends.

After a year of helplessness, we are all starting to sense a little hope, but fuses are shorter than ever. Regardless of which side of this thing you have been on, it has been stressful. People have lived in constant fear for almost a year – fear for their health, fear for their loved ones, fear for their livelihoods, and fear for their nation. Add an unbelievably contentious Presidential election and the politicization of virtually every aspect of life, and we are all walking powder kegs. Most people quietly endured it by focusing on their families and friends, but many of us are starting feel this pent-up pressure. I think it is due to Post-Covid Stress Disorder. (Disclaimer: I am not a real doctor.)

Initially, I thought I coined this term, but I Googled it, and sure enough, it is a real thing. After this long year of stress, uncertainty, and helplessness, people are suffering the lingering effects of the COVID age. Just when things are looking up and people have some room to relax, terrible feelings start bubbling up. The interweb is replete with videos of people losing it over the smallest things in the strangest places. Road rage has been replaced by COVID rage. Sadly, these people are as surprised as the people around them, because pent-up emotions can explode at the most inconvenient times and in the strangest ways. People rarely walk away feeling better, even if you get free snacks. It can happen to anyone, so if you haven’t had a COVID moment at some point during all of this, get ready. It might just sneak up on you when you least expect it. 

Fuses are short right now, and short fuses produce quick explosions. It can happen at the drive-thru, at the grocery store, at work, or even online if we are not careful. As this school year winds down, I hope everyone can recognize all the stress we have been carrying around. Our school has managed to stay open all year, safely, but it certainly was not easy. We did not always agree, but by the grace of God it looks like we are going to make it.  Likewise, across our state, most schools were open. Most parents were able to go to work. Most businesses stayed open. As Oklahomans, we are truly blessed. 

For these remaining few days of school and the summer ahead, please be extra kind and extra patient with everyone, so we can save the fireworks for the Fourth of July. May we all continue to intentionally extend grace to each other as we finish this long journey, no matter how long it takes, so our children can learn how to finish strong, even when strong emotions so easily beset us.    

Tom Deighan is a public educator and currently serves as Superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.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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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

The Pre-Eminence of Wal-Mart Parents

By
Tom Deighan
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Somewhere around the age of 2 or 3, children try to leverage pressure on their parents in public. I call those the Wal-Mart years, when children test us with fits, tantrums, and other tactics whenever they have an audience.  The goal is to get what they want, be it a toy or candy, but the larger goal is determining who’s boss, and it doesn’t just happen among toddlers.  I have a friend who admits to losing it in the cereal aisle when her child threw a tantrum during one hectic trip to the store.  She raised her voice, grabbed her child by the arm, and corrected him sternly right there in the store.  She never hurt her child, but it was enough of a scene that a concerned bystander scolded the mom and told her just to give the kid the cereal he wanted. Before the mom could respond to the stranger, her kid popped off, “Mind your own business, lady, or my mom will kick your butt!”  

The lady in this story is a great Mom, but everyone loses it in Wal-Mart eventually.  It does not make someone a bad parent, and kids rarely lose love for parents who correct them.  This is even true when the relationship is not perfect.    Even more remarkable, when the parent is derelict or abusive, however, children will still often defend them with a loyalty that defies logic.  That’s the power of the parent-child bond, and educators know that anyone who dares get between a child and a parent does so at extreme peril.  And when I say parents, I am referring to the caring adults in children’s lives who nurture their education. That role is often filled by someone who is not the biological father or mother.  Every child who has such an adult parenting their education is generally ready for school.    

Educators whom I respect hold the parent-child relationship as sacrosanct, for we know that it is an unbreakable bond. Parents are the preeminent influence in children’s lives.  Teachers know that their jobs are infinitely easier when the parent supports their child’s education, even in the smallest measures.  An educator can never replace the parent as the most important influencer or educator. We can often only enhance and support.  If a parent resists or devalues education or holds hostile feelings toward the teacher, educators struggle, often in vain, to overcome that child’s resistance to learning. On the other hand, when a parent participates or even tacitly supports in the simplest of ways like checking on their children’s grades online, that child enters the classroom with a tremendous advantage.  

Educators assist the parents, but we can never usurp, override, undermine, or replace the roles or responsibilities of a parent.  Contrary to the extreme examples we may see in the news, virtually all educators know that the power of a parent is unparalleled.  It is first biological, which is almost impossible to overcome, and then it is based on simple time and relationship. Think about it, children spend about 15% of their time each year in school, and they get new teachers every year.  The remainder is under parent or guardian supervision, year after year. (There are 8760 hours in a year, and children only spend 1260 hours in school, which is about 15% of their lives: 7 hours each day X 180 days = 1260 hours.) 

Educators assist parents, and I know educators who can help children overcome overwhelming obstacles, even those children who are unsupported in their education, but no educator can completely replace a caring, attentive, and invested adult in the home.  That’s why parents will always be the most important educators, and nearly all educators honor this parental role in a child’s life, especially during the challenging years!  Wal-Mart parents unafraid to correct their children in public are our heroes, for they are making our jobs much easier. Thank you for being the most important educators.

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

Breakfast with Recruits

By
Tom Deighan
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This is a recurring Veteran’s Day article that captures the moment that forever changed how I see our military men and women.  During my time serving the children of Fort Sill Army Base, I had the distinct honor of joining recruits for breakfast during bootcamp. It gave me a tiny glimpse into the tremendous sacrifice they are willing to make.  Please pray for our veterans and their families this second Sunday of the month, and please also pray for the safety of our schools. 

We were instructed to leave a seat between each of us in the empty mess hall for the recruits. Few of us in Leadership Oklahoma Class of XXVIII had military experience, so we were impressed with the food line which rivaled any breakfast buffet in town. Some of us quickly found a seat, but others lingered in the food lanes or at the juice dispensers. Then the recruits arrived.

They descended upon the serving lines with speed and efficiency. Always orderly and respectful, they moved past us mechanically as we tried to decide between yogurt or a bagel. They invariably grabbed both and walked in sharp angles to an empty seat. Dropping their trays between us as if pre-assigned, they returned for drinks. Each returned with two glasses that they cupped tightly in the center of their chests, elbows extended.

Although mindful of us civilians in the room, they had only ten minutes to eat, so they inhaled everything. Despite this, they patiently and respectfully responded to our questions. I watched with fascination as one young man folded everything on his tray into a pancake like a taco (for maximum eating efficiency he told me). The stubble on his freshly shorn head was likely the only he had ever experienced. He could just as easily have been a sophomore sitting in English class. 

At a nearby table sat several young women, just as precise and just as hungry. With no makeup and their hair pulled helmet-tight, nothing could hide their youth. But just about then, one of the Leadership Oklahoma members at my table asked them why they carried their drinks that way, cupped tightly in the center of their chests, elbows extended. “Because that is how they train us to handle a grenade, sir.”

I was awestruck. Respect and gratitude replaced sentimentality as I saw these recruits with fresh clarity. In fact, I saw every soldier I had ever known differently. Because in that moment, the United States Army marched right into my heart:  The bagpipe players on the polo field who learned to play in forty-five days. The drill sergeants who spent their weekend with these recruits instead of their families. The solemnity of the retreat ceremony. The big guns firing on the range. But mostly, I saw young men and women who carry their breakfast drinks like grenades because their lives literally depend upon it. I have never been more enlightened or more humbled.  

How foolish of me to look at these recruits as anything but the men and women who keep America free. Just four weeks into their basic training that forges them into soldiers, they already mastered discipline and precision beyond my imagination. This was reflected in each soldier I met on Fort Sill over my years there.  And while I learned to recognize the ranks from their symbols, I could never distinguish rank based on behavior, demeanor, or professionalism – from private to general, I saw only Army Strong.

Both of my parents served in the Navy. I have worked alongside countless other veterans, not to mention former students who went on to serve, and in my time at Fort Sill, I came to appreciate the military like never before. But not until that morning in the mess hall did I ever carry the heart of a recruit – cupped tightly in the center of my chest, elbows extended.

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

Toby Dawn’s Phone Book Censorship

By
Tom Deighan
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I have been missing my lifelong friend and childhood hero, Toby Dawn McIntyre, so I was excited to see him standing on the front porch. I barely opened the door, however, when he pushed past me. “Where you hiding them, Tommy Boy?” he demanded as he began rifling through random cabinets, drawers, and closets. I played it cool while I mentally checked off all the items I had hidden from him for his own good over the years (mostly harmonicas, roller blades, and berets). “The phonebooks!” he screamed. “Phonebooks!”

Apparently, Toby Dawn recently asked to see a phonebook at a local establishment, and the high schooler working the counter was clueless. One thing led to another, and Mr. McIntyre decided that in my past as a public school superintendent I purged phonebooks from the schools – a blatant and fascist act of censorship. Curiously enough, I recently received a phonebook in the mail, and like the local teenager, I was a little confused, but nonetheless I saved it. As Toby decried the evils of censorship, I handed him the thin, little book of lonely landlines. 

As Toby suspiciously flipped through its pages, I pondered censorship in 2022, a weapon wielded by both sides in the culture wars lately. As Twitter, Facebook, and Google have all learned recently, the surest way to bring unwarranted attention to something is to censor it. The more they de-platform, shadow ban, and outright block stuff, the more interesting it becomes to the general public. Consequently, as soon as kids hear about something “banned,” they look it up. 

Toby Dawn produced a black Sharpie and was busily marking out all the phone numbers and businesses he decided were inappropriate. “Kids don’t need to see this stuff,” he reassured me, but he also marked out the local Chevy dealership (he’s a Ford guy) and the phone numbers of several other businesses who “cheated” him. While I could not dispel Toby’s concerns, I wondered about the effectiveness of his approach.

Virtually every student has a smartphone nowadays, and very few of them have any internet limitations that they cannot bypass. Worst case, they have a friend with internet, so kids have virtually unfettered access to any “phone number” they might wish to see. Sadly, kids are no longer allowed to be kids for very long. They are barraged with terribly age-inappropriate stuff at the earliest ages. Anything they want to know, hear, see, or have delivered is a tap away. 

Of course, this certainly does not make everything appropriate for schools, but we are quickly learning that if we banned every book that contained anything offensive, we would have nothing left, not even Dr. Suess. On the other hand, when a school makes something available, even when it is not required, it can be interpreted as an endorsement. Even something as innocuous (and useless) as a phonebook can be considered harmful, so it is very difficult to draw the lines, especially on a state or national level. 

Unfortunately, we can never shield our children from everything controversial, offensive, or age-inappropriate. If we continue to sanitize history based on a modern reinterpretation of historical issues, we will be forced to remove all history, literature, and art from public schools. Let’s face it, most of history is age-inappropriate, offensive, and controversial. No amount of political stump speeches, school board protests/counterprotests, or vague and unenforceable laws will fix this. 

A frustrated Toby finally handed me back a highly redacted phone book. “They can just google it, anyways,” Toby said, “sounds like a parent problem, to me.”  And Toby is right. Ultimately, this is a parent problem, but not something they have to face alone. The parent-teacher partnership at the local level can usually work through these difficult issues . . . locally. We can ban everything, including phone books, but a yellow pages mindset will not foster critical thinking in our students. You would have better luck teaching them to play a harmonica while wearing a beret and roller-blading. I have seen Toby do this, however, and such awful behavior must be censored.

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

Safety and Security in Schools

By
Tom Deighan
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0

This is part of 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. 

At over 6 feet tall in 7th grade, Jake towered over the other students in the hallway.  On this day, however, the double-barrel shotgun crooked over his arm is what caught my eye.  A crowded hallway . . . a teenager with a gun . . . every educator’s nightmare!  Fortunately, this was twenty-five years ago. 

“No shells,” he reassured me, placing two fingers in the barrels. “I had to give a dumb gun safety speech, but I’m running it to the pickup before your class.”  Jake was 13 and had no business driving, but I trusted him completely with a gun.  That was long ago in a small rural school where we hosted school turkey shoots as fund-raisers.  His pickup wouldn’t have been the only one with a firearm or a gun rack.  Times certainly have changed! 

I have written about the 80/80/80 rule in public education (80% of parents and 80% of educators agree on 80% of the issues), but it may be more of a 95% rule when we consider safety and security.   Virtually all parents and educators agree on this issue.  As superintendent, I have served in a small rural district with no local police department, which meant we were on our own in an emergency.  I have also served in a large urban district that had its own police department.  Approaches to safety and security vary depending on the district and community, but all parents and educators agree on some basic principles.

First and foremost, parents demand to know that school staff are not only qualified professionally but that they are also good people.  It may sound unfair to label people as good or bad, but there’s really not much gray area on this issue.  Adults can afford to interact with each other within broad parameters, but when it comes to children, people are either good or bad.  Ask any parent, and I suspect you will find widespread agreement in their definitions.  Parents only want good people working in schools.  Period.

Beyond just trusting the staff, parents also expect their children to be protected from unwanted intruders.  The doors should be locked, the playground fenced, and staff should have reasonable procedures to limit access to the school.  In addition to being a security issue, this is also a practical matter because schools are so easily disrupted. The best-intentioned visitors can easily cause chaos by showing up on the playground or in a classroom unannounced.  Trust me, I check in at the office every time, even as the boss, because we are ultimately considering the worst-case scenario.    

God forbid, if a threat emerges in a school, parents want to know that staff will do whatever is necessary to protect their children from any harm.  How schools plan for this varies widely. Evasion, isolation, and evacuation are always options, but any bad person threatening a child should be decisively stopped by whatever means necessary.  More and more districts are hiring armed security or arming their staff due to this fear.  Threaten a child with a gun, and political differences quickly evaporate, at least for that moment.

Once schools reasonably ensure that children are safe and secure, we can worry about all the normal kid stuff, but things have changed a lot since I saw Jake in the hallway with a shotgun.  We didn’t worry as much about guns 25 years ago, but we also did not worry about cyber-bullying or online safety either. Of course, no school is perfectly secure, but statistically speaking, schools are still the safest place for a child. Parents and educators from wildly different backgrounds actually work together every day on this and other critical educational issues.  I bet Jake is a parent now, and I bet his 13-year-old can safely handle a shotgun and a pickup truck.  I also bet that he would agree with most parents and educators about the importance of safety and security, even regarding double-barrel shotguns.

Tom Deighan is a public educator and currently serves as Superintendent of Duncan Public Schools. He may be reached at deighantom@gmail.com

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