P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| Practical how-to's for successful change --Moving from "Ain't It Awful-Land" to practical results |
| How we got from our disgraced superintendent's multiple court appearances-- according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Jack Patton was our state's first public records conviction--to placing all five of our PEAK$ candidates on a seven-member school board in a single election in May 2004 is quantifiable and replicable and the steps are outlined below. You can do more, and better. |
| Above, former Llano ISD supe Jack Patton (far left) in court with the DA (center) and then-LISD CFO Carol Voit (far right). Below, Llano ISD school reform pioneer Pat Donahy with PEAK$ candidates Owen Walker (left) and future LISD board president Bill Jennings (far right) at a PEAK$ campaign--what else, this is Texas--BBQ. |
| Massive change starts with baby steps. Grab a piece of whatever's closest at hand, and fix it. When that's done, you grab another piece. If all of us grab the piece closest to us, this is our greatest chance for changing public education here in the U.S. It's how our first American revolution started; skirmishes lead to battles. The following will lead you to where you want to be. If these steps don't work for you, please email me and we'll work it out together. |
| Before you make a single move towards organizing, think about WHY you want to organize. Because most folks are gregarious and team-oriented, calling a meeting is a natural first step. About meetings Because I do not like meetings and consider most a waste of time, I do not recommend calling a meeting without being very clear in your own mind and with your group what the purpose is. Everybody's too busy, and if you persuade them to attend a purposeless meeting, they won't come back. So, if you must call a meeting, make it count. Take a moment beforehand to come up with a reason and a positive goal. While "Getting rid of the football coach" won't work, "How can we work together to improve our sports program?" will. About groups Think about choosing a name for your group. "Upset High School Parents" or "Mad as Blazes Taxpayers" isn't enough. You will be attacked for your negativity by your superintendent and his/her minions and those benefiting from his/her reign. And in the end you will not win community support. No matter how bad things are, find something positive to unite behind and keep that front and center of everything you do and say. Over the past five years I've helped organize three successful local groups in two local school districts with the third one statewide. The first time, some upset Marble Falls High School parents got together because we wanted a dress code--the kids going to the high school at 8 a.m. looked like they were coming home from a rock concert, (continued above right) |
| Did PEAK$ succeed? Yes. We met both goals we set for ourselves: (1) drug testing and (2) a dress code the administration said it could enforce. Which illustrates another advantage of setting clear goals: both you and your community will recognize when you've met them, and this will help with your next campaign. Nebulous goals achieve nebulous success; quantification is your friend. PEAK$ was the first time that parents had organized in a very long time and the 95 Questions (see above) were an effective tool. We next lobbied for a state audit (the Texas School Performance Review); within ten days of the state comptroller's announcing the audit, both the supe and an assistant supe had announced their departures, as did another assistant supe a year later. Also, three board members with a total of 30+ years on the board among them--whom many of us felt had stayed too long at the ball--all suddenly saw fit to retire from the board. More on this at right. |
10 Tips
1. Be nice.
2. Develop a thick skin and let the personal attacks and insults run off your back like you're
made of Teflon. IT'S NOT PERSONAL. When you rattle Education, Inc.'s cage, you're
threatening jobs and careers. Remember that wonderful line from The Godfather, "It's not
personal, Sonny. It's strictly business." Lacking facts and truth, your opposition will do anything
they can to discredit you, including attempt to smear you with personal attacks. Let them.
Rejoice. It's a sign you're on the right track.
3. Get everything in writing. Document, document, document. Verify, verify, verify. If the
superintendent wants to visit with you in his/her office about your concerns--don't, unless you have
a tape recorder with you and are following your state's laws for recording meetings. Email's better
so that you have their words in writing. It's easy enough for the superintendent to promise to look
into the situation and give you a hug on the way out the door--then drop the ball. If you're
emailing, you can ask, "When may I expect to hear back from you?" and then you have his/her
response in writing.
4. Speaking of which, set responsibilities and dates and times for everything, whenever you
interact with another person or persons, whether it be a two-person meeting or a hundred.
Confirm by email in writing. Never leaving a meeting of any kind with a vague, "Let's do
such-and-such, great idea!" Otherwise, you've wasted your time and everyone else's--and who has
time for that?
5. Don't repeat gossip unless you have a sheet of paper in hand to verify. Citing some
numbers or facts or developments at a school board meeting that you got from a friend or in a
letter to the editor of your local paper that turn out to be wrong will hurt your credibility--yet
another reason for the importance of public records.
6. If the atmosphere at your district's head office becomes too unfriendly or otherwise
threatening, take a trusted friend with you--don't go alone. If he's a linebacker from the local pro
football team or your husband's third cousin, Vinnie the Hulk, so much the better. Provided it's
legal in your state, wear a small I-River or similar recording device, and keep it running from the
time you exit your car and enter the building until you've gotten back into your car and have
physically exited the parking lot heading back home. I've had parking lot encounters I wish I'd
recorded. Take a small digital camera with you for just in case or a camera phone.
7. Pace yourself. Too many good people wear themselves out in a year or two with all their
work for naught because they grew frustrated. Develop patience and a sense of humor.
8. No matter how provoked or how righteous your indignation, keep cool. If nothing else, it's
a good exercise in self-control.
9. Do what you do for the highest and best good of the children and the parents and the
teachers and the taxpayers in your district. Don't expect a parade down Main Street or your statue
in the town square. This is what differentiates us from the cheerleader moms and the football dads.
10. Moms and dads are often afraid to get involved because they're afraid it will hurt their kids.
If you make your case big and public, and make it not about just your kid but all the kids in that
category--choir, special ed, gifted and talented--you will have more community support. I was as
noisy a mom as any at our local high school, and our daughter not only won the coveted lead her
senior year in the high school musical but also received the faculty-awarded scholarship for
strength of character. In no way was she hurt by my activism--and my activism never had her
name on it.
1. Be nice.
2. Develop a thick skin and let the personal attacks and insults run off your back like you're
made of Teflon. IT'S NOT PERSONAL. When you rattle Education, Inc.'s cage, you're
threatening jobs and careers. Remember that wonderful line from The Godfather, "It's not
personal, Sonny. It's strictly business." Lacking facts and truth, your opposition will do anything
they can to discredit you, including attempt to smear you with personal attacks. Let them.
Rejoice. It's a sign you're on the right track.
3. Get everything in writing. Document, document, document. Verify, verify, verify. If the
superintendent wants to visit with you in his/her office about your concerns--don't, unless you have
a tape recorder with you and are following your state's laws for recording meetings. Email's better
so that you have their words in writing. It's easy enough for the superintendent to promise to look
into the situation and give you a hug on the way out the door--then drop the ball. If you're
emailing, you can ask, "When may I expect to hear back from you?" and then you have his/her
response in writing.
4. Speaking of which, set responsibilities and dates and times for everything, whenever you
interact with another person or persons, whether it be a two-person meeting or a hundred.
Confirm by email in writing. Never leaving a meeting of any kind with a vague, "Let's do
such-and-such, great idea!" Otherwise, you've wasted your time and everyone else's--and who has
time for that?
5. Don't repeat gossip unless you have a sheet of paper in hand to verify. Citing some
numbers or facts or developments at a school board meeting that you got from a friend or in a
letter to the editor of your local paper that turn out to be wrong will hurt your credibility--yet
another reason for the importance of public records.
6. If the atmosphere at your district's head office becomes too unfriendly or otherwise
threatening, take a trusted friend with you--don't go alone. If he's a linebacker from the local pro
football team or your husband's third cousin, Vinnie the Hulk, so much the better. Provided it's
legal in your state, wear a small I-River or similar recording device, and keep it running from the
time you exit your car and enter the building until you've gotten back into your car and have
physically exited the parking lot heading back home. I've had parking lot encounters I wish I'd
recorded. Take a small digital camera with you for just in case or a camera phone.
7. Pace yourself. Too many good people wear themselves out in a year or two with all their
work for naught because they grew frustrated. Develop patience and a sense of humor.
8. No matter how provoked or how righteous your indignation, keep cool. If nothing else, it's
a good exercise in self-control.
9. Do what you do for the highest and best good of the children and the parents and the
teachers and the taxpayers in your district. Don't expect a parade down Main Street or your statue
in the town square. This is what differentiates us from the cheerleader moms and the football dads.
10. Moms and dads are often afraid to get involved because they're afraid it will hurt their kids.
If you make your case big and public, and make it not about just your kid but all the kids in that
category--choir, special ed, gifted and talented--you will have more community support. I was as
noisy a mom as any at our local high school, and our daughter not only won the coveted lead her
senior year in the high school musical but also received the faculty-awarded scholarship for
strength of character. In no way was she hurt by my activism--and my activism never had her
name on it.
Here's one more suggestion If you suspect funny business with your school district's finances, ask to view your superintendent's expense spending; here in Texas you'd be sure to ask to view his/her 701 code expenses--there's no wiggle room if you specify the precise PEIMS function code. Why I suggest you take this shortcut: Based on my experience, if there's funny business with eRate money or construction funds, there will also be funny business of one kind or another with the supe's expenses. Remember: These are public records because your superintendent is spending your tax dollars. It's your right to see your district's written records detailing how they spend your tax dollars and how they make curriculum and other decisions. And if your school district's check register is not online yet, please make that your next priority. It's a positive step your district can take towards transparency. |
| Something else we campaigned for in Llano ISD (our second PEAK$ group, the election where we put all five of our candidates on the school board in the May 2004 election): For the first time ever, LISD board meetings were held in our part of the county. BENEFIT: Our seniors were hesitant to travel on the highway at night in deer country for a 90-minute round trip. Why not have the supe and the trustees come to the community? |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
| P E A K $ For every school district decision, does it promote: P - Parent and community involvement. E - Excellence and equality. A - Accountability. K - Is it for the Kids? $ - And of course, an eye to finance$. |
| HOW TO ORGANIZE 101 |
MORE ABOUT THE 5 RULES These 5 rules are the result of direct and often difficult experience, and every word of every one of them is important. While they don't need to be followed in this particular order, I recommend that you not proceed past the first one until you figure out exactly what you want and can write it down on a sheet of paper in a single sentence. Otherwise you'll wind up wasting your energy and become frustrated because it doesn't appear you're accomplishing anything. And your support in the community will diminish accordingly. With most folks I talk to, their efforts fail because they did not have a clear, positive and quantifiable goal With a clearly detailed quantifiable goal, you'll be able to recognize where you are in reaching it and when you've gotten there. Also, this gives you a useful sound byte for your community and the press which you'll need eventually anyway. These 5 rules are not meant to restrict you but to empower you, to save you time and energy. As I tell my kids, 'Go make new mistakes. Don't repeat mine.' There's a lot of good to be done in our public schools. |
| 1. Define your goal, the single thing you want to accomplish first--in a single sentence: who, what, when, where, why and how. Write it down on a sheet of paper. 2. Develop allies who share your goal. Connect the dots and identify your opposition; beware shifting alliances and beware Greeks bearing gifts. 3. Gather factual data supporting your goal and stick to the facts. 4. Follow the money--and play your cards very close to your chest. 5. Stay focused, stay positive, keep your eye on the prize, and don't quit. Unlike public school psychobabble, this is not about a process; you're looking to achieve an end result. |
| H e l p i n g A m e r i c a ' s M o m s & D a d s , s t u d e n t s a n d t a x p a y e r s |
Friends, because there's now so much on this site--reports, commentaries, book excerpts, all designed to help you bring improvements to your local schools--I'm in the process of preparing a site map. Underlining indicates active links. Please check back. SITE MAP NEW COMMENTARIES: RANDOM ROUND-UPS ACCOUNTABILITY & OPEN RECORDS ISSUES: School District Checks/Check Registers Online Connecting the Dots Pass the Trash Reader Q & A's SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) Transparency Report ____ GOVERNANCE ISSUES: The American Superintendency Team of Eight ____ Arizona Nogales USD Pima County Ofc. of Ed. Santa Cruz County OE California Glenn County Ofc. of Ed. San Francisco USD Florida Citrus County PS Miami-Dade County PS Michigan Ann Arbor New York New York PS Roslyn Ohio Strongsville PS Texas Bremond ISD Cleburne ISD Dallas ISD Eanes ISD Edgewood ISD Everman ISD Houston ISD Katy ISD La Joya ISD Lake Travis ISD Llano ISD State Board of Education ____ Edu-Conferences ____ BOOK EXCERPTS: Education, Inc. How To File a Public Records Request How To Organize Lax Oversight ____ WHAT OTHER FOLKS ARE DOING: MODERN MINUTEMEN SUCCESS STORIES, KINDRED SPIRITS ____ COMMENTARY ARCHIVES ___ SPECIAL REPORTS: TEXAS LEGE: TEA POWER GRAB PAYING FOR TEXAS PUBLIC EDUCATION: A PRIMER ____ About/In the News 2006 - Year in Review |
AASA - American Association of School Administrators ASA - Association of School Administrators CSD - Consolidated School District DOE - Department of Education ES - Elementary School HS - High School ISD - Independent School District JHS - Junior High School MS - Middle School MSM - Mainstream media NSBA - National School Boards Association NSPRA - National School Public Relations Association PS - Public School(s) SBEC - State Board for Educator Certification SD - School District Sup't - Superintendent TAKS - Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills TASA - Texas Association of School Administrators TASB - Texas Association of School Boards TASBO - Texas Association of School Business Officials TEA - Texas Education Agency TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills USD - UnifiedUnited School District |
| GUIDE |
| FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a republic. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., Chapter 1, Section 107 which states: the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright," the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use" you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
| QUOTES |
Every battle is won before it is ever fought. --Sun Tzu, The Art of War |
| Helping parents & taxpayers implode Education, Inc. |
| I n p r o g r e s s |
| ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS: Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you. |
| Copyright 1999-2007 Peyton Wolcott |
| POP QUIZ: How would your supe react to finding "95 Questions" on the front door of the admin. building on his/her way in one morning? Or under the windshield wiper of his/her car after lunch? Would he/she welcome the opportunity for honest dialogue? |
My New Book PEYTON WOLCOTT |
| and we wanted drug testing because the boys were reported to be smoking pot in the weeds out in back of the ag building and the then- superintendent could not be persuaded to cut the weeds back because she insisted to the parents who asked that there was no drug problem at the high school. And she didn't want drug testing, we were told, because she did not believe there was a drug problem. Rather than calling ourselves "Upset High School Parents" we came up with the acronym "PEAK$" and united ourselves behind a positive banner. |
During the 2004 election: Bush is playing chess and Kerry is playing checkers. -- Dick Morris |
If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way. --Sun Tzu The Art of War |
| 5 PROVEN RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL CHANGE |
When you shake a bag of rattlesnakes, they're gonna hiss and try to bite ya. -- Texas proverb |
Walk softly and carry a big stick. -- Pres. Theodore Roosevelt |
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable. When using our forces, we must seem inactive. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away. When far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War |
In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them. - Sun Tzu The Art of War |
Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. --John 2:16 |
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards ....Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows. The soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. -- Sun Tzu The Art of War |
| 95 QUESTIONS--how they worked for good in one community |
BABY STEPS: You only go from 0 to 60 in car ads. -- P.W. |
Work harder and smarter than your opposition. -- P.W. |
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. --Niccolo Machiavelli |
Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed. --Baltasar Gracian |
I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. -- Pres. John Adams |
Doubt is a luxury we can't afford any more, sweetie. You have more powers than you realize. -- Mrs. Incredible |
Be possessed of the patience and stability to keep on moving in the directions of your dreams. --Lisa Regan |
Ask lots of questions. -- Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
I'd like to print up some bumper stickers: MAKE OPEN RECORDS OPEN -- P.W. |
| -Original Message- From: XXXXX XXXXXXxx To: XXXXXXxx XXXXXxx Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 10:03 PM Subject: The Superintendent' sexpense spending Anybody have any idea how to find out how much our superintendent is really spending on himself and his wife's trips? =============== From: XXX XXXXXX To: XXXXXX XXXXX Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 11:45 PM Subject: The Superintendent's expense spending When you submit your request, make sure it's for "the superintendent's expenses under admin. code 701," something like that. =============== From: XXXXXX XXXXXX To: XXX XXX, XXXXXX Date: Monday, March 06, 2006 8:03 a.m. Subject: The Superintendent's expense spending I thought we were broke! That's what he keeps telling us! And I hear he's staying in five-star hotels! Which is it? =============== TO: XXX XXXXXX FROM: XXXXX XXX SENT: 03/06/06 RE: The HS principal's wife She seems really nice, but is she really the best- qualified person to be counselor at the new elementary school? That whole hiring process seemed so hush-hush. Doesn't Texas have anti- nepotism laws? |
| A brief history In 1517 the Church was an institution grown corrupt, selling passage to Heaven via a system of indulgences. On what is now Halloween Day of that year Luther-- according to lore--detailed his disputes with the Church in a document he entitled "Ninety-Five Theses" and nailed to the front door of his church at Wittenberg, Germany; wisely and bravely he also sent a copy to his archbishop. The theses begin, "Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light." Thus was born the Protestant Revolution. Fast forward from Germany to Texas Several years ago in our small school district in Texas we adapted the idea of the Ninety-Five Theses to "95 Questions." These were the questions we'd all been asking ourselves and each other at football games and across the produce section at the grocery store. Regardless of your religious views (I am not a Lutheran), the Ninety-Five Theses were and still are an effective means of stating important truths; for those of us involved in cleaning up our local school districts, the "95 Questions" can be an effective galvanizing agent. How our "95 Questions" looked, and what they said Emails were copied and pasted together (as at right), not bothering to make the fonts or type faces uniform, although names and email addresses were removed; it was an obvious round-robin effort. The final result was xeroxed and distributed them around town. We only had room for about three dozen questions and made note of that. Symbolically, someone even taped the "95 Questions" to the front door of the administration building. In addition to telling the truth, there were no personal or snide comments or attacks. For example, in the case of the high school teacher who was seen at home gardening in her front yard during her 90-minute "counseling period" (no thanks to block scheduling) the person who sent the email was the teacher's neighbor. There were no mentions of administrators' private lives or personal pecadillos, or rumors--only factual inquiries and comments regarding our local public schools. The power of the printed word There was in Luther's day and still exists a great power in the written word. There was something about seeing the questions and comments transit from whispers to print that seemed to wake everyone up. The "95 Questions" were an effective agent of change and helped galvanize the community. Distribution You can drop off a dozen at the local coffee shop; the bench where people sit while waiting in line is good. Pin a set to the notice board at the post office. Tape them to the mirror in the women's restroom at your local grocery store. Getting the truth out is a noble cause which will energize you and your community. Draw upon your highest and best impulses and ask and distribute your "95 Questions" as Luther did his Ninety-Five Theses "out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light." |
| Used properly, the "95 Questions" can be a useful tool for opening up a two-way dialogue between your local school district and your community---a real dialogue NOT controlled and/or manipulated by the school district. It is for this reason that i have not trademarked this concept, and offer it freely for all who will use it for good. If you use these, please attribute --- and send news of your progress; please- put "95 questions update" in subject line of email. |
| TO: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx FROM: Xxxxxxx Xxx DATE: March 6, 2006 10:09 AM RE: Nepotism? How can the trustees whose wives are teachers vote on teacher pay raises? Isn't that like putting money in their own pockets? =============== To: XXXXXX From: XXXXXXXX Date: 0306060/10:15 a.m. Subject: Nepotism is alive and well in our school district!!!! I know for a fact that the only kid who had any real chance to be the high school's drum major was the band director's son. Anybody else thought they had a chance was not being very realistic. =============== RE: Block scheduling Any idea how we can get rid of block scheduling at the middle school? Our kiddoes over there aren't doing so good. =============== TO: XXX XXXXX FROM: X. XXXXX DATE: Mar. 6, 06 SUBJECT: B.S. You're right. Here's a good link: www.jefflindsay .com. I xeroxed a lot of it and sent it to the board. =============== TO: XX X. XXXX FROM: XXX XXXX SENT: 03/10/06 RE: Block at the HS I'm tired of watching my next-door- neighbor, who teaches senior English at the high school, come home for her 90-minute "counseling period" at 10 o'clock & doing her gardening. She's weeding her front yard and we're paying her for it! |
| FROM: X.X. TO: XXXX X. DATE: Mar. 7, 2006 SUBJECT: B.S. Did any of them ever respond? I wrote them about an idea I had and haven't heard a word; it's been almost four months now. ========= -Original Message- TO: XXXX19 FROM: XX X XXX DATE: 03/07/06 RE: Our board members They seem to be ordinary people until they get elected. It's like they forget who elected them. ============== FROM: X.XXXX TO: XXXXX XXX DATE: Mar. 7, 2006 RE: Our board members Why don't you run? ============== TO: XXXX XXXX FROM: XXX SENT: 030806 RE: Our board members Nobody would elect him! He tells the truth and he stands up to the super-intenden t! ============== FROM: XX TO: XXXXXXX X XXX DATE: Mar. 11, 2006 SUBJECT: VENDORS Are there any regulations on who the district's buying stuff from and who they're hiring as consultants? I'm hearing wierd stories about consultants and trips and lawyers. |
| WHAT THE ORIGINAL 95 QUESTIONS LOOKED LIKE |
| 95 Questions about GIGO ISD "What's going on in Gigoville?" |
| 95 Questions By Peyton Wolcott - Copyright 2005-2007 First published 2005 - Updated Sat., Sep. 1, 2007/9 am The inspiration for "95 Questions" comes to us from an ordained priest and teaching theologian named Martin Luther who lived in Germany during the late Middle Ages. |
| Martin Luther nailing his "95 Theses" to front door of church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 |
| HERE'S MORE ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER [NOTE: THIS IS FROM WIKIPEDIA AND APPEARS TO BE A BRITISH SOURCE] The background for Luther's Theses centers on particular disputes with the Roman Catholic Church and its satellites, dealing with the offering of indulgences—the granting of penance for sin. In short, the practice of giving indulgences became somewhat commoditised (with relics) and then commercialised (with the sale of indulgences), contributing to what Luther felt was a offense to Holy salvation among Christians who felt they could find absolution through purchase rather than merit or grace. The Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany held one of Europe's largest collections of relics — religious artifacts — accumulated by Frederick III. At that time viewing relics was purported to allow the viewer to receive relief from temporal punishment for sins in purgatory. By 1509 Frederick had over 5,000 relics, "including vials of the milk of the Virgin Mary, straw from the manger [of Jesus], and the body of one of the innocents massacred by King Herod."[1] The relics were kept in reliquaries and exhibited once a year for the faithful to venerate. "In 1509, each devout visitor who donated toward the preservation of the Castle Church received an indulgence of one hundred days per relic."[2] By 1520 Frederick had over 19,000 relics, allowing pilgrims viewing them to receive an indulgence that would reduce their time in purgatory by 5,209 years.[3] As part of fund-raising campaign commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X to finance the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Johann Tetzel a Dominican priest began selling of indulgences. Even though Luther's prince, Frederick III, and the prince of the neighboring territory, George, Duke of Saxony, forbade the sale in their lands, Luther's parishioners traveled to purchase them. When these people came to confession, they presented their plenary indulgences, claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all their sins. Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, October 31, 1517. Some scholars have questioned the accuracy of this account, noting that no contemporaneous evidence exists for it.[4] Others have countered that no such evidence is necessary, because this action was the customary way of advertising an event on a university campus of Luther's day.[5] Church doors at the time functioned very much as modern bulletin boards. Still others suggest the posting may well have happened sometime in November 1517. Most agree that, at the very least, Luther mailed the theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, the pope, friends and other universities on that date.[6] Regardless, the Theses were soon printed and had been widely read in Europe by 1518. (Fire destroyed the doors of the Castle Church in 1760.) (SOURCE--Wikipedia) |
| This above is approximately what our original "95 Questions" looked like. They were triple-columned on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, a pastiche of emails. We deleted identifier names, but left the original fonts as they were sent. |
| PRACTICAL ISSUES To sign or not sign? As this is a first step, generally you're pretty cowed by an intimidating administration; we sure were. Because none of us had done anything like this before, we were unsure of our rights and had nowhere to go except an attorney who recommended sticking to the truth and using no names, including emails. We followed his advice. Practical problems: Your community will view the "95 Questions" as being negative. Your local public school administrators will view the questions as hostile. Both represent bad PR in the long run. How we used the "95 Questions": They were a short-term single-use tool to awaken our community. Shortly after they were first circulated, we held our first organizational meeting of the group we decided to call PEAK$ (more below), decided what we wanted to accomplish first, and set to work. Lessons learned: Your local board and administration will generally assume your group is larger than it actually is. Why? Because, and this is an important proviso, so long as there are no personal slurs or insults and all of your questions are based on facts and not rumors, the powers that be in your community recognize that the "95 Questions" speak the truth and are giving voice to the valid community concerns of the "Silent Majority"--whether the powers that be will admit to this publicly or not. Suggestion: Use these as a single-use wake-up call for your community, then organize (see "How to Organize 101" below). |
| IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO NOT BREAK ANY LAWS ! |
| Marble Falls High School |
| First PEAK$ meetings We met in a local church not because we were trying to convert anyone to that faith but because it was the only building in town large enough to accommodate our group without our having to post the meeting publicly as we would have had to do at a more public place such as the local library. We knew the administration would want to gate crash our group and try to take it over, and so felt a strong need to protect our new idea. Because we were meeting at a church, we asked the pastor to give us a blessing first, which practice I feel elevated our thought and I commend to you; we continued to pray briefly together at the beginning of all of our PEAK$ meetings. |
| Then-MFHS principal Alex Torrez |
| More about lobbying for the TSPR audit. Every difficulty carries a benefit within it. How this worked for us. After lobbying the board for several months--with our efforts ranging from my favorite, "Let me buy you a friendly cup of coffee and we'll discuss the TSPR audit process," to presentations to the board during the open-mic portion of regular board meetings--the board finally agreed to hold a committee meeting to discuss the audit. Friends and supporters were there along with a local newspaper reporter. In discussing TSPR, the board, whose then-members were not in favor of the audit, was focusing on anecdotal comments, mostly negative, rather than factual information, along the lines of "This ol' boy I talked to down the road didn't much like it." I finally raised my hand; after being ignored for some moments I asked, "Can I state a fact?" The board president turned red in the face and yelled at me, "We don't want the facts!" While this was an unpleasant moment for everybody present, the newspaper reporter made note of the comment and the next edition of the local paper carried a story about the committee meeting on the front page, in the bottom right corner, repeating the board president's comment, the last part of which was published as, "The board president yelled at a parent present, 'We don't want the facts!'" This was followed by a notation, "Continued on page 8." Except that, as luck would have it, gremlins struck, and there was no continuation on page 8--the jump didn't jump. With the result that all of Marble Falls had several days to discuss the fact that the president of the school board didn't "want the facts." The newspaper in its infinite wisdom elected to rerun the story in its entirety again the next edition, and the local populace got to read in print a second time that the school board president didn't "want the facts." By the following spring the school board president elected not to run for re-election along with two other members. |
Developing . . . |
| Scenes from post-PEAK$, post TSPR-audit MFISD board meeting; how far they've come in five years: this board at its December 18, 2006 meeting voted to put the district's check register online. Left to right (below): Richie Giesecke, Candie Pieratt, Tommy Cheney, Kelly Fox. |