Episode 5 Teachers, Uranus and War

 Hello! And welcome to this edition of the Listening Tube! I’m your host, Bob Woodley. Thank you for being a part of the program! On this edition, we’ll hear about women who made contributions to our society, oil, Russia, and what happens 100 years after the first time somebody sees Uranus. But first, we’ll hear about some teachers to got schooled by new rules nobody knew existed in “Not the headlines….”

A guy in Mississippi lost his job for reading to second grade school students. He wasn’t really supposed to be reading to them, but he did to fill time on a Zoom meeting with the students that was set up the the woman who will be their Principal next year. She had planned to read to them, as a way of introducing herself. Turns out she was late, and the Assistant Principal was told by his boss to read to the students to keep them engaged during the delay. This 20-year veteran of the classroom grabbed a book he’d read to other classes at different schools over the years. The story in the New York Daily News by David Matthews quotes the Assistant Principal as saying, “I grabbed one of my favorite books that I had nearby, I read it to them. It’s a funny, silly book.” The book is a children’s book described by Google books as, “full of hilarious rhymes and delightful illustrations aimed at entertaining both children and adults alike. Sounds like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse! But no, it’s just an innocent book by Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird called, “I Need a New Butt.” 

The Hines County School District in charge of Gary Road Elemetary School in Byram Mississippi said the Assistant Principal was fired for showing a lack of professionalism and impaired judgment by reading the book to the students. Impaired judgment? What does that even mean? Is the school board suggesting the assistant principal was on drugs? Or that he was drunk? He gets fired for a lack of professionalism while the Principal of the other school didn’t even show up on time? Sadly, it was merely the contents of the book that lead to the dismissal. If you’ve never read, or even heard of, I Need a New Butt, it’s about a boy who realizes that his butt has a crack in it, and wonders if, since his is defective, he might be able to come up with a new and improved design. The authors suggest, via the boy’s imagination, several potential upgrades to the conventional butt, some fantastical, some that come in handy. Ultimately, he notices that other people also have cracked butts, and learns to live with his fate.

The assistant principal is planning to appeal his firing, and is currently raising money for attorney’s fees. “If you don’t let kids see funny and silly books,” he says, “they’re not goint to stick around long enough to find out that books can be other things than funny and silly. You have to hook them with the funny and silly stuff. And that’s what I’ve always done. That’s what this book was for.”

So, here’s a guy, a 20-year veteran teacher, who worked his way up to Assistant Principal, and then gets fired for doing what he’s done his entire career. He never saw it coming. Maybe he should have.

Here’s another example of woke culture blindsiding a teacher. This is not only a reminder of the degree to which political correctness has infiltrated our schools, but also how special interest groups are reversing the roles of student and teacher. In this case, a teacher in Kansas was suspended for not using a students preferred pronoun. Now for those who may not be familiar with this concept, here’s a brief summary of how I understand it: If I’m born and continue to be a heterosexual male, then you would likely use pronouns like “him” or “his” when talking about me. If you’re born and continue to be a heterosexual female, then the pronouns you might use could be “her” or “hers.” However, some people don’t identify with either gender, or have changed genders, or are in between genders. Some of those people may not want to be addressed by pronouns that suggest a gender like “him” or “her.” In those cases, gender neutral pronouns like “they” or “them” seem to be preferred. Kids in this particular school, and at schools around the country, are allowed to choose which pronouns they would like the teachers to use when addressing each individual student. So, imagine you’re a teacher, and you have a different class in your room each period of every day. You are required to know, or at least have access to a reference that tells you, which pronoun by which every student wants to be addressed. That may sound perfectly acceptable to you, or you may find it to be utterly ridiculous. But you know what? In this particular instance, it doesn’t even matter! Because in this particular instance, the teacher was suspended for addressing the student in a proper way using the students legal and enrolled last name, in an effort to avoid using the student’s preferred first name. This is what I mean by reversing the roles of the students and teachers. The school administration has given a power to students that they never had before, and it’s a power to make a rule that the teachers must follow, and the student can change at any time. It’s usually the teachers who make the rules, and the students must follow the rules. But in this case, the administration has delegated the authority of how a student should be addressed to the student, and they can make up the rules as they go along! This teacher was suspended for not addressing the student by the name that she prescribed. I say she because the article refers to her as a biological female, and doesn’t indicate any change or modification. Now, the teacher’s argument is that she shouldn’t be required by the school to promote what her attorney calls, “novel views about gender fluidity and ever-expanding pronoun categories without regard to the First Amendment or due process. Here’s another twist: at the time of this so-called suspendable offense, neither the school itself, or the school district had a formal policy about using a student’s preferred name or pronouns! Nope! There was no policy in place despite a year of what the lawyer says was “unconstitutional targeting of the client over the past year while inconsistently attempting to enforce successive drafts of its new pronoun plicies and equity training initiatives.” SO, because there were no rules in place at the time of the supposed transgression, pun intended, the teacher was suspended under a more generic policy that prohibits bullying by staff. So because the teacher didn’t call the student by the student’s preferred name, but by a proper title and the student’s surname, she has been labeled as a bully. In the meantime, the teacher has proposed a neutral policy to the school board that would let teachers address students by the names listed in the district’s official enrollment records. Makes sense, right? That’s the name on your report card, the name on your permanent record. Remember back in the day when your Permanent Record was used as a threat to keep you in line? “This is going on your permanent record!” Of course, back in the 60’s, 70’s and even the 80’s, we believed that our permanent record was in fact, permanent, and would follow us around for the rest of our lives. I don’t know about you, but whatever is in my permanent record hasn’t seen the light of day since 1980. Now, the only permanent record that matters is the teacher’s. Anyway, the school district, after consulting with its attorney, mandated that all teachers address students by their preferred names and pronouns. Parents were never informed of the policy change. So now the teacher is suing the school board, the Superintendant, and the School Principal for violating her free-speech rights, exercise of religion, due process and equal protection under the law. Here’s an example where equity is valued more than equality.

This whole thing reminds me of when I was in military broadcasting school at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. I was in the Air Force, but the school and staff included all services. During my first trimester, the military brass imposed a rule that all instructors will address the students by their rand and surname. That included both military and civilian instructors. As you might imagine, military broadcasting school is a lot more relaxed than say military how to kill people school. So, despite the directive, most if not all of the instructors, both civilian and military, gave us, the students, the option of how we would like to be addressed. Their reasoning was that it’s important for the students to be relaxed and comfortable while learning our craft. One of the lead instructors actually went around the room and asked each individual student if he or she would like to be addressed by their rank and surname, or just their first name. For example, I could opt for Airman Woodley, or simply Bob. Those were my options. As the options went around the room from seat to seat and row to row, all of the students, as I recall, opted for their first name. Until one of the other Air Force guys said, “You may address me as Mr. Blackburn.” It was almost one of those, “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” moments, but not that monumental. I had already been acquainted with Mr. Blackburn, and knew this Son of Texas had a great sense of humor. His response drew laughter from the rest of the class, as well as the instructor, and as it turned out, Mr. Blackburn was not how he would be addressed for the remainder of the course. I think the lesson here is that you’ll be addressed many different ways throughout your lifetime, some ways respectful, other ways disrespectful, and other ways proper, but perhaps not the way your prefer. Very few of us had the opportunity to choose our own names. We were given names at birth, we grew up with them, and our names become a part of us. Sometimes our names get changed because of marriage or adoption. Some of us had old nicknames that we’re glad we don’t have anymore. Some of us tried to get people to call us by nicknames we chose, only to learn that nobody else is willing to call you by that nickname. Mostly because you chose it yourself! You don’t get to choose your own nickname! And you shouldn’t expect a teacher to address you by a name that you chose, if it isn’t your actual name! If your teacher gets suspended because he or she wouldn’t address you by some name you identify with that has no legal status in how you’re recognized, then you have brought shame upon whatever name you’ve given yourself. And if you expect a teacher to remember which pronouns you prefer, along with the hundred or more other students he or she teaches, then you’re putting your own selfish needs ahead of the reason you’re in school in the first place; to learn.

I have one more story here about a teacher who was suspended for doing what he thought was right, at the direction of the Principal, and thwarted what was possibly another school shooting. In a Macon Telegraph story from March 10th, the story is told of a Georgia teacher who was suspended for helping to disarm a student who brought a gun to school in August of last year. The principal asked the teacher to investigate reports that students had brought guns on campus for an outdoor pep-rally, and that the student’s were “planning on doing something.” Exactly how the confrontation between the teacher and student began is unclear, but a police officer’s body cam shows the student slapping the hand of the teacher, and the teacher pushing the student against a wall until police intervened. The female student did, in fact, have a gun on her. The teacher’s attorney says, “(the) Coach is the reason all of metro Atlanta does not know the date of August 20th 2021.” After the incident, the school district filed a termination charge against the teacher. They said the teacher, “failed to meet the professional expectations it has for employees.” and said he “acted outside of the scope of his authority and responsibilities.” The district statement continued, “(the teacher’s) conduct resulted in an escalation of a physical altercation with a student in crisis, which conflicts with district expectations to de-escalate in these types of situations.” I would like to point out that the district’s “student in crisis” is the one who had the gun. But here’s the real twist: The Fulton County School district rescinded the termination order and instead opted for a suspension. The reason? If the teacher was being fired, they would be able to bring witnesses to a hearing. Now that the termination has been reduced to a suspension, the teacher has no right to bring witnesses to testify about what actually happened. All three eyewitnesses say they didn’t see the teacher do anything wrong. There’s nothing in the story that says what happened to the student who brought the gun to school. The principal of the school is now advocating for unannounced K-9 Sweeps and random weapons checks. Meanwhile, the teacher’s lawyer is appealing the 20-day suspension.

This is a case where a teacher took action and stopped what was possibly a planned event at an outdoor pep-rally that may have resulted in serious harm and death. If there are rules about how to interact with students who are suspected to be armed, and this teacher’s actions resulted in termination and then suspension, maybe the rules need to be changed. 

But the first two stories we heard today were more about the woke mob and political correctness coming back to bite teachers in the butt. Weather they needed a new one or not. First let me say this: I love teachers. I had favorite teachers throughout my education. I dated girls who’s parents were teachers, and when I grew up, I dated actual teachers! One reason I love teachers is, as Rodney Dangerfield said, “If you do something wrong, they make you do it again!” I have a lot of sympathy for individual teachers because I know they have a tough job to begin with, and when you couple it with rules that don’t make any sense, or aren’t even on the books yet, and you’re still getting charged with breaking them, it makes the job not only tougher, but unpredictable. I don’t care what profession you’re in, if the rules keep changing, and nobody tells you that the rules are changing, it can make performing your job well almost impossible. On the other hand, all of the political correctness and woke policies that teachers have been advocating, thinking that they were above it all, have come full circle, and now they’re surprised that those policies also apply to them. 

That can’t be right

 Like I said, I have sympathy for individual teachers, but as a group, and when I say group, I mean Unions and the Union leaders, you’re falling on the wrong side of what parents expect school to be. I’ve already talked about school indoctrination, in my pilot episode, but there are many teachers in this country who have taken it upon themselves to forgo the three R’s and replace them with social agendi...agenda’s...the plaural of agenda. See, right here’s where a teacher would come in handy. But I’m more likely to get a lecture about socialism or radical ideology that preaches how terrible the United States are. And yes, that is how you say it. For as much support parents and non-parents alike want to give to teachers, the way the teacher’s unions fought to keep schools closed through Covid-19 for as long as possible in some of the biggest school districts in the country really exposed the unions for what they are; political tools to be used whenever and wherever they can be used to wield power and sway policy to the union’s advantage, regardless of the impact it may have on the young people teachers are meant to serve. I had a debate with a teacher during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, and he maintained that virtual classes were working, and that children were adapting, and that even after the pandemic, we could continue to teach our children via the internet in chat rooms. I suggested he and the rest of the teachers get back into the classroom where they had the most value to the student and the taxpayers. He added that there was hardly any difference between virtual and in-person learning. Perhaps that’s true from the teacher’s perspective, but not from the student’s perspective. School isn’t just about what’s taught in the classroom. It’s also about meeting other people and learning from them as much as from your teachers. So from the teacher’s perspective, it’s the same. OK. Then let’s shut down the brick and mortar schools, eliminate all extra-curricular activities and sports programs, have no school spirit or community pride, and more importantly, do away with school taxes. If learning is on-line, then parents should be able to choose which teachers’ Zoom classes are best for their child, and all the good teachers will be packed with students and the bad teachers will have no students at all. Then the teachers will become independent contractors and we’ll have no need for a teacher’s union. Public education is on a very slippery slope right now. Remote learning has opened a window for parents to their children’s education, and they don’t like what they see. It would be a shame if the teacher’s unions objectives ultimately undo the public education system. Not only for the education received from the teachers, but also from the experiences of being on the football team or in the band or orchestra. Which, by the way, need teachers to lead. I’ve had the privilege for the past seven years to be the color-commentator on high-school football radio broadcasts. I’ve seen firsthand what a valuable asset a high-school football team, marching band and band front, and cheer leading squad is to a community and school district. How important are these programs? Well, all I can tell you is that even during the pandemic, we still broadcast high school football games. We didn’t always have fans in the stands, or marching bands at halftime. We didn’t have open concession stands. But the games were played. When kids couldn’t go to class, the games were still played. That’s how important it is. That’s what you lose if you let go of your local school, and let the teacher’s unions make rules that only benefit the unions. There’s a big argument now about who should be making decisions about what’s taught in our public schools, parents or educators. It seem the parents don’t think the educators have the children’s best interests at heart, and the educators think the parents aren’t smart enough to know what the children should be taught. In a perfect world, the parents would defer to the educators because, well, they’re educators. But in today’s world, the parents can’t trust the educators because the entire school system is run by people who are more interested in social activism than teaching. Personally, I think it’s a shame that today’s educators can’t teach our children to think for themselves.

Because of social activist teachers, one State felt it had to take matters into it’s own hands. Florida recently passed a new law concerning how sex education is taught because some believed that the subject matter was becoming too broad. Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bill” is a response to activist educators who are introducing young children to gender-fluidity and gender identity as opposed to not subjecting kids below the fourth grade to sexual education topics at all. The actual name of the Legislation is Parental Rights in Education. For the most part, it legislates when parents must be notified of health and welfare changes with a student and makes parents ultimately responsible for their children’s well-being, and that classroom discussions about sexual orientation or sexual identity be allowed only from fourth grade and up. Nowhere in the legislation does it say you can’t say gay. That whole “Can’t Say Gay” thing is just made-up by the left to make it sound bad. Kind of like when the Conservatives call a bill, “Life is Great” when it’s just another attempt to make abortion illegal. There’s nothing about gay or straight in the Florida bill. And now the left fringe has browbeaten the CEO of Disney to chime in and call a meeting with the Florida Governor. I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Disney’s CEO gets schooled on what the legislation actually says. In the meantime, parent’s don’t know their children are being shown Blues Clues Pride Parade celebrating Transgenderism and pansexuality as well as Queer Kid Stuff videos that train them to ask people for their pronouns and tell them that doctors are not always right when they “assign gender.” Assign gender? What does that even mean? Does a doctor look at a baby’s genitals and then rub his chin and go …...aaahhhhh, girl. Write that down! Make it official! There are companies that specialize in creating lessons that promote gender fluidity, while simply being a heterosexual is frowned upon. Don’t get me wrong. If you’re homosexual, you’re homosexual, right? I’ve been told it’s not a choice. You’re born homosexual. Fine. Then why do our children need to be influenced one way or the other? And why do we need to address it in school? Shouldn’t our schools be used to teach our children what they’ll need to know in order to be assets to the community and contributors to society? If a person is born homosexual, don’t they figure it out on their own? I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized I was heterosexual, but I’m sure I didn’t need any other options than pretty girls to make me realize I had a heterosexual identity, although at the time, I did not know, nor did I care, that it had a name! 

Let’s Go back

This week in 461 AD, Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul. This week in 1753, almost 13-hundred years later, the first official Saint Patrick’s day was observed. You know what that means? That means that St. Patrick was dead for more than a millenia before he was honored with a holiday. You know what else that means? That means there’s hope for you and me! Who knows? Some day, a thousand years from now, you might be revered for something you’ve already done, have yet to do, or are doing right now! In 1781, William Herschel discovers Uranus. 

There are some great accomplishment by women this week. Golda Mier became the first woman to be Prime Minister of Israel in 1969. She was known for holding cabinet meetings with her staff at here kitchen table. This is women’s history month for a reason. The Campfire Girls organize in 1910. In 1993, Janet Reno becomes the first Attorney General of the United States, and in 1912, the Girl Guides, later renamed the Girl Scouts, are founded. This week in 1994, the Church of England ordained its first female priests. This week in 1906, Susan B. Anthony passed away.

Here are some historical notes that are more topical: This week in 1974, most, not all, Arab oil producing nations end their US embargo, thus ending the energy crisis. Those of us who remember it recall being able to buy gasoline only on certain days depending on the last digit of your license plate. I’m not sure how well that plan would fly today!! Speaking of middle east oil, it was this week in 1983 that OPEC, which stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, cut oil prices for the first time since 1960, 23 years earlier. But enough about oil, let’s talk about Russia! This week in 1940, Finland surrenders to Russia during World War II. In 1947, The

Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism. This is as important today as it was in 1947. The Truman Doctrine, according to the State Department’s Office of Historian, “established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.” I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the Biden administration isn’t doing that to the full measure that it can in relation to Ukraine. This week in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet Premier. It was Gorbachev who would oversee the dismantling of the Soviet Union. In 1952, a Russian MiG-15 shot down a Swedish DC-3 over the Baltic Sea. It was recovered in 2004, leaving the crew in place. In 1977, a hundred years to the day after the first time somebody saw Uranus, astronomers saw the rings around Uranus! Until then it was thought that only Saturn had rings, and that Uranus was just a cold, gassy place that’s only been visited once by anything man-made!

On a lighter note, it was this week in 1954 that Willie Mosconi set the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without missing a shot during a pool exhibition in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands.

President Biden is now calling the high gasoline prices the “Putin Price-hike.” For a year now, since the first day in office when he ended a pipeline with the stroke of a pen, our gas prices have been going up. Before that it was the pandemic’s fault, and the inflation was only “transitory.” Then the lunatic fringe on the left gained influence in regard to petroleum products. The current administration has helped create roadblocks to fossil fuels from day one. They hide behind terms and meaningless numbers, while making our country capitulate to outside demands. I understand the desire to move to cleaner, renewable energy sources. But we can’t just cut off one to promote the other without a plan to gradually transition from a source that is plentiful and can power our economy while at the same time develop new ways to generate the power we’ll need moving forward. The Biden administration is blind to the plight of the average American who longs for the status quo after a long pandemic nightmare, yet still reaches for new frontiers and opportunities. The Biden administration needs to recognize the you can’t force the future. You have to nudge it along. And in the meantime, you have to work with the tools you have, not abandon them like military assets in Afghanistan. And you can’t blame the Russian invasion of Ukraine on higher gas prices. Russian crude oil accounts for about one per cent of US supply overall, according to a report from the Hill provided by WBRE TV. We can easily cover that supply domestically with the right policies and practices. President Biden is making us suffer to promote an agenda that is worthwhile, but in a way that is impractical and intolerant. 

There is one thing he can blame on Russia, though. An it has major implications worldwide, not just in Ukraine or in Russia. It’s the current fertilizer shortage, that could mean food production world wide will be cut by as much as 50 percent. Luckily, Canada is the world’s largest producer of Potash, a vital ingredient of industrial fertilizer, but following Canada are Russia, Belarus and China. Those three countries accounted for 23 million metric tons of potash production in 2021, more than Canada and the next eight countries combined, according to the United States Geological Survey as published by Bloomberg. So while inflation is already at pace not seen in decades, the north American growing season is quickly approaching. If farmers can’t get the fertilizer they need to grow their crops, worldwide food prices are expected to soar. Russia and Ukraine together, according to an article by Patrice Lewis in Liberty Loft, produce 30 percent of the world’s wheat exports, 19 percent of corn exports and 80 percent of sunflower oil. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is dragged into a fourth week, thanks to the tenacity of the Ukrainian military and people, the farming industry there is uncertain about anything.

10-word answer—What did you learn from your favorite teacher? Most of us remember a valuable less we learned from a teacher. Maybe it wasn’t your favorite teacher, but regardless, what lesson do you recall that had an impact on the rest of your life? Share your answer by calling 570-601-1101. You only get ten words, so use them wisely. If you need more than ten words, get your own program! 570-601-11-01 to chime in on Ten word answer.

The Listening Tube is written and produced by yours truly. Thank you for being a part of the Listening Tube. I’m you host, Bob Woodley for thou ad infinitum.