Friday, March 30, 2007
a letter to the government
Okay, my dear reader, I have thus far received less than stellar results in my past efforts to advocate an issue or make a point with our political heroes.
Maybe this time will be different.
Yeah, right.
__________
March 29, 2007
The Honorable Florence Shapiro
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Senator Shapiro,
I wish to congratulate you on the successful recent passage of Senate Bill 9, the School Safety Act, from the Texas Senate. I am in complete agreement with a statement you made when announcing this bill on your Senatorial Website. It is quite true, “Nothing is more important than our children's safety and security”.
Like yourself and your fellow most esteemed and respected colleagues, I recognize the inadequacies of the current law and the possibility of placing children at risk by only requiring complete background checks on teachers hired within the past four years. The possibility certainly exists that a few veteran teachers are lurking out there in the shadows along with their illicit pasts, ensnaring and victimizing children, or waiting to do so like a spider in its web. The complete retroactivity of your bill is surely the only sensible and totally safe way to proceed.
I am on my fourteenth year of service in the classroom as a public school teacher in the Great State of Texas. My annual evaluations have never been less than exemplary. I have earned certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
As an experienced and dedicated teacher, I realize that your legislation’s direct attack on the professional integrity, respect, and dignity of myself and other veteran educators pales in comparison to the need to protect the children.
So great is the need to protect the children I agree with your implied assertion that this legislation rightfully trumps a longstanding tradition of the American system of justice: the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Surely those of us with nothing to hide could not possibly object to spending mere moments on some future day being treated as a common criminal.
Some might wonder how a Republican, an individual who ostensibly believes in smaller government, fiscal conservatism, individual freedom and personal responsibility; could possibly advocate for a program that proposes spending future millions adding another layer of state bureaucracy so that the liberty of innocent people can be needlessly limited by adding their personal information to giant government databases.
To be quite honest, I find myself wondering that. But I am not concerned about any perceptions of hypocrisy because I realize that this legislation is for the children, and as Whitney Houston sang, “children are the future.”
However, I fear your legislation does not go far enough.
I often see elected officials standing in front of groups of children promoting and publicizing their efforts to protect them on local television newscasts, in newspaper photos, or on the internet. From the prevalence of these images, particularly during campaign seasons or when the Legislature is in session, one might be lead to believe that politicians spend almost as much time in the schools as do the teachers and other employees. What assurance does the public have that these individuals can be trusted?
For the safety and security of the children, I propose you expand your legislation to include not just public school employees who educate children, but also to the public officials who wave the banner of their protection.
Before you dismiss this as a ludicrous suggestion, please allow me to further elucidate this notion. As is evident by a great many fiscal and financial decisions frequently made by all levels of government, politicians seem to have no qualms about sticking their hands in the pockets of children to steal from their wallets. It is not unreasonable to assume that some might be tempted to feel around a little more while their hands are in there.
You state, "We must be diligent in our pursuit of child safety, and provide the safest public school system we possibly can.”
If this is your true belief, and not simply a grandstanding statement to play on fear while pandering to your affluent suburban constituency, then surely you see the wisdom of my proposal and need for the expansion of yours.
As I am quite certain that you are well aware of the adage “great leaders lead by example”, I have no doubt that you will be the first in line at your local Texas DPS office for fingerprinting.
I thank you for your service and dedication to The Great State of Texas and Its Children.
Sincerely,
The Good Doctor Polymer Noyz
|
Maybe this time will be different.
Yeah, right.
__________
March 29, 2007
The Honorable Florence Shapiro
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Senator Shapiro,
I wish to congratulate you on the successful recent passage of Senate Bill 9, the School Safety Act, from the Texas Senate. I am in complete agreement with a statement you made when announcing this bill on your Senatorial Website. It is quite true, “Nothing is more important than our children's safety and security”.
Like yourself and your fellow most esteemed and respected colleagues, I recognize the inadequacies of the current law and the possibility of placing children at risk by only requiring complete background checks on teachers hired within the past four years. The possibility certainly exists that a few veteran teachers are lurking out there in the shadows along with their illicit pasts, ensnaring and victimizing children, or waiting to do so like a spider in its web. The complete retroactivity of your bill is surely the only sensible and totally safe way to proceed.
I am on my fourteenth year of service in the classroom as a public school teacher in the Great State of Texas. My annual evaluations have never been less than exemplary. I have earned certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
As an experienced and dedicated teacher, I realize that your legislation’s direct attack on the professional integrity, respect, and dignity of myself and other veteran educators pales in comparison to the need to protect the children.
So great is the need to protect the children I agree with your implied assertion that this legislation rightfully trumps a longstanding tradition of the American system of justice: the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Surely those of us with nothing to hide could not possibly object to spending mere moments on some future day being treated as a common criminal.
Some might wonder how a Republican, an individual who ostensibly believes in smaller government, fiscal conservatism, individual freedom and personal responsibility; could possibly advocate for a program that proposes spending future millions adding another layer of state bureaucracy so that the liberty of innocent people can be needlessly limited by adding their personal information to giant government databases.
To be quite honest, I find myself wondering that. But I am not concerned about any perceptions of hypocrisy because I realize that this legislation is for the children, and as Whitney Houston sang, “children are the future.”
However, I fear your legislation does not go far enough.
I often see elected officials standing in front of groups of children promoting and publicizing their efforts to protect them on local television newscasts, in newspaper photos, or on the internet. From the prevalence of these images, particularly during campaign seasons or when the Legislature is in session, one might be lead to believe that politicians spend almost as much time in the schools as do the teachers and other employees. What assurance does the public have that these individuals can be trusted?
For the safety and security of the children, I propose you expand your legislation to include not just public school employees who educate children, but also to the public officials who wave the banner of their protection.
Before you dismiss this as a ludicrous suggestion, please allow me to further elucidate this notion. As is evident by a great many fiscal and financial decisions frequently made by all levels of government, politicians seem to have no qualms about sticking their hands in the pockets of children to steal from their wallets. It is not unreasonable to assume that some might be tempted to feel around a little more while their hands are in there.
You state, "We must be diligent in our pursuit of child safety, and provide the safest public school system we possibly can.”
If this is your true belief, and not simply a grandstanding statement to play on fear while pandering to your affluent suburban constituency, then surely you see the wisdom of my proposal and need for the expansion of yours.
As I am quite certain that you are well aware of the adage “great leaders lead by example”, I have no doubt that you will be the first in line at your local Texas DPS office for fingerprinting.
I thank you for your service and dedication to The Great State of Texas and Its Children.
Sincerely,
The Good Doctor Polymer Noyz
|
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