I meant to write something about this earlier in the week so please forgive the delayed reaction. In my opinion, Howard County School Board member, Allen Dyer, is a seriously misguided man.
According to this story by Dan Schwind in The Columbia Flier, Allen Dyer thinks the school system is a better judge of what our kids should be exposed to than their parents. Commenting on the school systems decision to give parents discretion as to whether or not their children would be allowed to see President Obama’s message to students he had the audacity to say that parents should not be allowed to censure what their children are exposed to.
“This is not something that should be condoned,” he said. “I don’t think it couples with the board’s policy of dealing with controversial issues. We should not give parents the right to censor what their children see, because that’s what this is: censorship.”
Now don’t get me wrong. I think every kid should hear positive messages about the importance of education, particularly when it comes from the president. That being said, when a school official believes the state can trump parental rights it is a direct threat to our society.
With this philosophy Dyer has clearly demonstrated that he is unfit to serve on the Board of Education. Can a board member be impeached?
I agree. I admired the message of Obama’s speech a great deal. However, I cannot believe Allen Dyer’s foolish comments. To suggest that Board of Ed members know better than parents about what their children should view takes serious delusions of grandeur. And if that’s not bad enough, Dyer then had the audacity to suggest that if a speech from the first non-white President was not shown in schools, that Brown vs. Board of Ed would be undermined. Really, dude?
ReplyDeleteDyer provides evidence that those who seek power are often not poorly equipped to use it wisely.
As someone who voted for Dyer hoping he would be a pain in the ass to the rest of the Board of Education, I wish I could take my vote back.
ReplyDeleteSadly, his statement about the school system being better at making decisions than parents is probably accepted by a lot more politicians than just Allen Dyer
And what exactly did you expect when you voted for a guy who has sued the school system numerous times resulting in more than $500,000 spent on defense costs for suits without a shred of merit that have ALL failed? And now he has two appeals at the State Board against Board decisions since he's been a Board member. If you elect people like this, than you get what you deserve - which is him trying to keep you from removing your child from any school program at your discretion. Really, people need to look a little deeper when they choose a candidate. However, I give DW credit for admiting his mistake.
ReplyDeleteDave is right. The board and for that matter the administration both believe they know better than parents.
ReplyDeleteDyer is the only one honest enough to admit it. Unfortunately for Dyer, he's sounding more like a socialist than the anti-establishment rabble rouser people voted into office.
Still, I'd rather know exactly who is in office than deal with secrecy, closed meetings (which dyer has changed), lying, saying one thing and doing the opposite.
I don't have any children in the Howard County school system now. I did at one time and was satisfied with the education they received. Whether you voted for him or not, agree with his agenda or not, President Obama is the President of the United States. A few words from him to our children shouldn't be censored by a few parents. The public education is funded by taxpayer dollars by Howard County citizens. If these parents don't want their children exposed to a public education, perhaps they should place their children in a private school or home school them where they have complete control over their content.
ReplyDeleteHH
HH- you have laid out good reasons why the public school system should offer school vouchers so that parents who are displeased with the service provided can go a private provider.
ReplyDeleteSo why do we elect regular people to office. Is it not to make informed decisions for us? Isn't it the American way if we don't like the bum(s) to remove them through the ballot box at the next election?
ReplyDeleteImpeachment is not for expressing an opinion it is for some real malfeasance in office. Stupidity is not a malfeasance.
We elect people for there opinions. This community elected Mr Dwyer knowing he was out on the edge. I always say you get what you ask/pay for.
By the way has the school system materially gotten better or worse since he's been on the school board? No, just those who have to deal with Mr Dwyer wish he would go away. So unfortunately, Mr Dwyer is our school board member at least until the next election.
School administrators always make choices about what is taught in schools (public and private). Are you going to suggest that if a group of Holocaust deniers objects to lessons about the Holocaust in history courses, schools should revise history texts accordingly? Incidentally there is a difference between censure and censor.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to disagree with you on this, because I believe a school board has a place for opinions such as his. I happen to support him fully on this particular issue - I am appalled at the fact that any local schools decided not to run the address, as the high school my kids will be attending some day did (Oakland Mills).
ReplyDeleteI agree with him even in the more general case because I think the public school system should serve as an equalizer to the diversity of family traditions and types of child-rearing that exist in this area, but I absolutely understand where some of your folks are coming from, being offended by the pricipal of the thing which involves the school system havign a tactit proviledge to override the parent's choice for their children.
However, he is not an autocrat who makes decisions by himself. He is one voice of seven that we have on our school board, and I think it is overwhelmingly to our benefit to have one guy like him sitting on the board. I wouldn't want to get seven people who felt the same way he did, but then again I would want to get seven people who felt the same way about anything on my school board.