I’ve never been an expert on the Super Bowl. I grew up on a farm in northern Indiana and went to such a small school that we didn’t have a football team. Basketball was king, my brother was a starter, so that was the only ball game I understood well. When my husband Pierre and I came to Texas, I had to catch up on football, especially when I became special assistant to President Jerry Supple and was asked to be “guest coach” at a football game. There I was on the field, trying to keep my eye on the action, scared someone was going to accidentally tackle me, and I couldn’t even keep track of where the ball was. I had to ask the Vice President for Student Affairs, Joanne Smith, to explain everything. I was no more qualified to be a real coach than many of the people on the Texas State Board of Education who direct our textbook and curriculum choices for a state which covers one in ten kids in the United States. The idea that non-teachers make these momentous choices based on their personal political beliefs or life experience is as absurd as it would be for me to coach a Super Bowl team.
Teaching, curriculum, and textbooks are complex subjects, and I’ve had
decades of experience with all three. As a candidate, writer and researcher, I have
continued to “keep my eye on the ball” when it comes to the State Board of Education
for years, I’ve analyzed charter schools, budget issues, and high-stakes testing in our
state. It doesn’t take a financial wizard to see that most decisions made in Texas
education come down to the legal term “Cui bono?” or who profits. Decision-makers
must not see students as cash cows. Education is an investment in our future, not a
place for people to favor companies that make money from charter schools, textbooks
and testing. An educated and qualified board, free of conflicts of interest, can make
decisions that benefit our students and the future of Texas for everyone. I am the only
teacher running for District 5, and we need more teachers on the State Board of
Education. Let’s keep our eye on education!