P E Y T O N W O L C O T T |
| h o w w e t a k e b a c k o u r c h i l d r e n ' s e d u c a t i o n -- o n e p e r s o n , o n e q u e s t i o n , o n e s c h o o l a t a t i m e . Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott |
| Special July 4th salute to our Modern Minutemen! |
| N E W |
| SALUTE TO AMERICA'S MODERN MINUTEMEN By Peyton Wolcott - July 4, 2006/1:00 a.m. Presumably I'm not alone in my wrong assumption that most of our forebearers were busy 230 years ago today running around the East Coast, the women busily sewing "Don't Tread On Me" and Old Glory flags and the men hoisting their muskets to drive out the British. |
| Consider our modern Minutemen They've been active of late. See complete alphabetical listing below left with links. |
| Imagine my surprise to learn recently (thank you, History Channel) that of resident Colonists in 1776, a full half were in a state of apathy, wanting nothing to do with the conflict, and of the other half, half of them wanted to stay with the British monarchy and the other half were in favor of revolution--only 25% of the total population. To celebrate the anniversary today of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, here's information on several brave souls who have been willing to do what they can where they stand to better pubic education. I call them our modern Minutemen because they are made of the same right stuff (thank you, Tom Wolfe) as our country's original heroes. These folks have all made substantial contributions for the betterment of our great nation's schools. |
| Nancy Gadbois and Pat Yezak's (above) public records searches helped send Bremond ISD supe Kenneth Johnson to prison last week. Rene Amy's alertness helped draw attention to former Pasadena USD volunteer John Betances Whitaker, who is now in prison and will stand trial for at least one murder. |
| The officer then swung his sword, and said, "Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men. Fire!" --Eyewitness account by Sylvanus Wood of command by British officer Major Pitcairn to American Captain Parker & his Minutemen, so named because they were ready to serve at a minute's notice; Battle of Lexington Green (1775). (More at far right) |
| Dad David Parker (left)went to jail last year because he wasn't willing to allow Lexington public school |
| While I've never had a superintendent speak in such direct terms--no, let me restate this: While I've never had a superintendent use Major Pitcairn's exact words (above right), I've certainly had supes speak to me with an intent which appeared to be not entirely unrelated. And this was when they deigned to answer questions at all, leading us to another fellow who experienced difficulty eliciting a response from those in charge. |
| officials to advocate a homosexual lifestyle to his young son and was then barred from setting foot at the son's school. |
| Doctors ignored warnings Semmelweis was the pioneering physician who discovered that the then-high rate of childbirth fever and consequent deaths could be reduced to almost nil if doctors delivering babies would wash their hands with a chlorine solution between births. Problem was, the doctors were proud of their blood-encrusted coats as a badge of their profession and experience. While in no way is this comparing our scandal-ridden school districts to European childbirth hospitals of the 1840's, Semmel- weis's name has become synonymous with hard-headed authorities who insist on continuing to do things their way, despite being proven to be wrong. Over and over on this website you see examples of wrongdoing resulting from lax internal controls and lack of accountability by parents and taxpayers. Yet what supe have any of us ever encountered who willingly increased internal controls without external pressure being brought to bear? |
| Dad Jim Olsen on Bainbridge Island was barred from his child's middle school, because he and wife Mary Dombrowski objected to the district's rewriting World War II history. |
| Ignaz Semmelweis |
| This photo was a potent symbol of wasteful spending in Katy ISD |
| "The Semmelweis Reflex is the dismissing or rejecting out of hand any information, automatically, without thought, inspection, or experiment. The phrase stems from a number of people's personal experiences with the phenomena, and denotes the reactions of anyone who engages in such behaviour." (SOURCE--Wikipedia) |
| Mary McGarr helped defeat a fluffy $261.5 million bond issue, the first time in Katy ISD's history, and Donna Garner, opponent of Texas' current TEKS standards, has helped alert Texas and the nation to the importance of real standards long enough to see her views vindicated and accepted by the State Board of Education last month. |
| Another guy who ignored the truth at his peril Despite obvious signs of the Colonists' growing unrest, Britain's King George III thought he'd rule this country forever. I've posted this image at right--how very arrogant he appears in his ermine and royal silks--at the top right of each webpage as a reminder that even though he was in charge when this portrait was painted, authority which is not earned and borne fairly does not last. |
| King George III |
| 'Tear down this wall!' When President Reagan stood in front of Berlin's Brandenberg Gate in 1987 and told the Soviet Union's then-General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, who could have known that it would actually happen. Until that moment it had seemed Communism would last forever. Because my generation grew up with terrible photographs on the evening news of Russian guards shooting at people attempting to flee East Germany through this very gate, those images flooded through me as I stood at this very spot in 1997. By then the only visible remnants of Soviet domination other than bullet holes in the stone columns were Russian vendors selling plastic amber and trinkets from collapsible tables. |
| Brian Camenker (photo above/AP) has continued to defy Massachusetts' increasingly militant pro-gay curriculum, Jeff Lindsay has continued to expose the weaknesses and wrongness in block scheduling, and William Fitzhugh has continued to uplift all things literary and historical in our schools. |
| Brandenberg Gate in Berlin, site of former 'Checkpoint Charlie' |
| Susan Bushart has published a series of community updates via email, and continues to sift through reams of public records in an effort to bring accountability and transparency to Eanes ISD. Jimmy Kilpatrick continues to publish EducationNews. org on a daily basis, Jim Fedako continues to draw attention to how things education should be on a local and national level, and Rose Cervin lost her board seat then formed a new accountability group, ACCES$ Comal ISD. |
| 2006 Minutemen |
| (In alphabetical order) Click on names for links to more information |
| Rene Amy - Pasadena, California PUBLIC RECORDS SEARCHES (SOME RESULTING IN LAWSUITS) INFORMATIONAL LISTSERVE |
| This is a remarkable group of people, and each of them deserves a big and heartfelt "thank you" from America. So, hats off, friends, and-- thank you! |
| Susan Bushart - Austin, Texas PUBLIC RECORDS SEARCHES INFORMATIONAL "COMMUNITY UPDATES" |
| Brian Camenker - Waltham, Massachusetts PARENTAL NOTIFICATION & CURRICULUM ISSUES PARENTS' RIGHTS WEBSITE |
| Rose Cervin - San Antonio, Texas FORMER TRUSTEE, COMAL ISD PUBLIC RECORDS ADVOCATE GROUP: "ACCES$ COMAL ISD" |
| Mary Dombrowski & Capt. James Olsen - Bainbridge Island, Washington CURRICULUM ISSUES PARENTAL RIGHTS BARRED FROM CHILD'S SCHOOL |
| Jim Fedako - Lewis Center, Ohio SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER EDUCATION BLOG |
| William Fitzhugh - Concord, Massachusetts LITERARY JOURNAL & PRIZES HISTORY CLUB WEBSITE |
| Nancy Gadbois & Pat Yezak - Bremond, Texas PUBLIC RECORDS SEARCHES SUPERINTENDENT IMPRISONED |
| Donna Garner - Hewitt, Texas TEACHER CURRICULUM ISSUES PROLIFIC EDUCATION WRITER |
| Jimmy Kilpatrick - Houston, Texas EDUCATION NEWS WEBSITE SPECIAL ED ADVOCACY |
| Jeff Lindsay - Appleton, Wisconsin BLOCK SCHEDULING EXPERT WEBSITE |
| Mary McGarr - Katy, Texas FORMER TEACHER FORMER BOARD MEMBER EDUCATION ACTIVIST |
Rene Amy Pasadena, California Susan Bushart & Dianna Pharr Austin, Texas Brian Camenker Waltham, Massachusetts Rose Cervin San Antonio, Texas Mary Dombrowski & Jim Olsen Bainbridge Island, Washington Jim Fedako Lewis Center, Ohio William Fitzhugh Concord, Massachusetts Nancy Gadbois & Pat Yezak Bremond, Texas Donna Garner Hewitt, Texas Jimmy Kilpatrick Houston, Texas Jeff Lindsay Appleton, Wisconsin Mary McGarr Katy, Texas David & Tonia Parker Lexington, Massachusetts |
| David & Tonia Parker - Lexington, Massachusetts PARENTAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CURRICULUM ISSUES WEBSITE |
How we take back our children's education: one person, one question, one school at a time. |
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 |
Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality. – Beatrix Potter ___ Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom. – Albert Einstein ____ Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. – Samuel Johnson ____ To learn, you must want to be taught. – Proverbs 12:1 ____ We are faced with the paradoxical fact that education has become one of the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought. – Bertrand A. Russell ____ I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. – Albert Einstein |
| 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 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott - All rights reserved |
Twenty-three-year-old Sylvanus Wood was one of the Lexington militia who answered the call the morning of April 19,1775. Several years after the event he committed his recollection to paper in an affidavit sworn before a Justice of the Peace which was first published in 1858 ___ "I, Sylvanus Wood, of Woburn, in the county of Middlesex, and commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy-four years, do testify and say that on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, I was an inhabitant of Woburn, living with Deacon Obadiah Kendall; that about an hour before the break of day on said morning, I heard the Lexington bell ring, and fearing there was difficulty there, I immediately arose, took my gun and, with Robert Douglass, went in haste to Lexington, which was about three miles distant. When I arrived there, I inquired of Captain Parker, the commander of the Lexington company, what was the news. Parker told me he did not know what to believe, for a man had come up about half an hour before and informed him that the British troops were not on the road. But while we were talking, a messenger came up and told the captain that the British troops were within half a mile. Parker immediately turned to his drummer, William Diman, and ordered him to beat to arms, which was done. Captain Parker then asked me if I would parade with his company. I told him I would. Parker then asked me if the young man with me would parade. I spoke to Douglass, and he said he would follow the captain and me. By this time many of the company had gathered around the captain at the hearing of the drum, where we stood, which was about half way between the meetinghouse and Buckman's tavern. Parker says to his men, 'Every man of you, who is equipped, follow me; and those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting-house and furnish yourselves from the magazine, and immediately join the company.' Parker led those of us who were equipped to the north end of Lexington Common, near the Bedford Road, and formed us in single file. I was stationed about in the centre of the company. While we were standing, I left my place and went from one end of the company to the other and counted every man who was paraded, and the whole number was thirty-eight, and no more. Just as I had finished and got back to my place, I perceived the British troops had arrived on the spot between the meeting-house and Bucknian's, near where Captain Parker stood when he first led off his men. The British troops immediately wheeled so as to cut off those who had gone into the meeting-house. The British troops approached us rapidly in platoons, with a general officer on horseback at their head. The officer came up to within about two rods of the centre of the company, where I stood, the first platoon being about three rods distant. They there halted. The officer then swung his sword, and said, "Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men. Fire!" Some guns were fired by the British at us from the first platoon, but no person was killed or hurt, being probably charged only with powder. Just at this time, Captain Parker ordered every man to take care of himself. The company immediately dispersed; and while the company was dispersing and leaping over the wall, the second platoon of the British fired and killed some of our men. There was not a gun fired by anv of Captain Parker's company, within my knowledge. I was so situated that I must have known it, had any thing of the kind taken place before a total dispersion of our company. I have been intimately acquainted with the inhabitants of Lexington, and particularly with those of Captain Parker's company, and, with one exception, I have never heard any of them say or pretend that there was any firing at the British from Parker's company, or any individual in it until within a year or two. One member of the company told me, many years since, that, after Parker's company had dispersed, and he was at some distance, he gave them 'the guts of his gun.' www.eyewitnesstohistory.com |
| POP QUIZ: How do you yourself know for a fact that your state or local supe is actually using the funds entrusted to them for the correct purposes? |
My New Book PEYTON WOLCOTT |
The question is not how to measure excellence at public schools and education agencies. The question is how to measure competence. -- Dianna Pharr |
| CONTACT: Peyton Wolcott P.O. Box 9068 Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657 peyton@peytonwolcott.com |
| F o c u s i n g o n accountability f i r s t |
| The shout of our modern-day Minutemen Parents and taxpayers have grown weary of an increasingly expensive and failed public education system in this country grown as corrupt and unaccountable as any Communistic hierarchy. We stand outside the gates and shout, "Tear down this wall!" For some of us the solution is vouchers. For others it's increased accountability by superintendents and boards. For others still it's parents keeping their tax dollars at home. There may be a solution out there that none of us can yet imagine, just as Reagan couldn not imagine the toppling of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe. However the solution comes about, and whatever form it takes, the end of our corrupt and non-functioning public education monopoly is coming. History has shown us that tyrants do not long prevail. |