I Am The Problem

Over the last 20 years, I have attended more than a few Board meetings.

I spoke at two or three. Funny I can't remember.

Watching a Board meeting on TV or on-line does not do the meeting justice. When one goes in person, one gets to watch eye contacts, meetings in the back of the room, notice who leaves the room within a short time and then returns after a while within a short time, usually from different doors, and who sits where.

I think I have previously written about my very fist Board meeting attendance. I went to see what the arena was, in preparation for speaking to the Board. On that first dry run, the Director of Special Education came up to my wife and me and asked us what we were doing there. I said I had come to watch. She said to me that she could think of a lot better things that I could do than go to a school board meeting. She knew I had issues. I spoke at the next Board meeting, and I spoke at other Board meetings later.

They really don't care except for their image. If they can destroy the speaker, that is as good or better than addressing the speaker's issue.

The below comment on The Gradebook speaks volumes.

Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:

"What's amazing is, when you go to the board meetings there are NO TEACHERS, NO PARENTS, NO STUDENTS.
Until folks get their heads out of their doo-doo holes and start doing something about it expect the situation to continue to get worse."