The members of the Eanes School Board are either weasels or bricks.
Too harsh?
Maybe. We know the members of the School Board are probably well-intentioned people—parents, neighbors, local business owners—trying to make the District better. They are giving their time and energy to the community. In the abstract, we appreciate their effort.
Perhaps we should cut them a little slack?
That sentiment is fine and dandy UNTIL you listen to their actual words during School-Board meetings. Then you hear them either lie about their efforts or demonstrate that they don’t understand the issues at hand. They are not communicating with the Eanes community in good faith.
When trying to figure out how to judge the intentions of the School Board, it helps to imagine what a helpful answer looks like vs. a weaselly answer. Is the School Board trying to make issues more clear? Or are they playing language games?
To demonstrate, let’s return to our Montessori analogy for just a moment.
Helpful Answers
Think about our imaginary Montessori teacher. If she’s a good teacher, sincerely interested in communicating the truth to parents, then she’ll build bridges during the conversation.
Sometimes a concerned parent might not know the precise terminology to ask the right question. The parent might ask, “Do you teach Montessori in this classroom?”
Well, if the parent is trying to understand classroom practices, that’s probably not quite the right way to phrase that question.
So the thoughtful teacher might clarify: “Are you asking if we teach students about Maria Montessori and how she developed her philosophy? Or are you asking how we apply Montessori methods in this classroom?”
Oh! Presented with those clarifying choices, the interested parent can now say, “Oh, of course! I’m interested in the application. Do you apply Montessori methods in this classroom?”
Weasel Answer
Now think about the School Board. When parents ask if Dr. Gooden and the School Board are implementing Critical Race Theory, the Board could reply with a similar helpful clarification: “I bet you’re not asking if we teach Critical Race Theory as theory to students. I bet you’re trying to get at whether we’re applying Critical Race Theory, correct?”
And parents would say, “Oh, of course! That’s what we mean. Are you applying Critical Race Theory? Are Dr. Gooden and the School Board taking the ideas rooted in Critical Race Theory and implementing them in our District?”
But that’s not how the members of the School Board have answered. Think about their actual answers: they simply assert that no theoretical CRT is happening—even though that’s not the questions parents are trying to ask. The Board members act as if they don’t understand what parents want to know. They don’t clarify the issues that parents are really trying to get at.
They’re pretending—or they don’t know—that Dr. Gooden’s work is saturated with the terms of applied CRT. They’re pretending—or they don’t know—that they’ve approved the concepts of applied CRT throughout the District.
If they have nothing to hide, why would they do that? When interacting with parents, why would they be purposefully difficult?
Why would they not build bridges?
Seems to me that takes us back to weasels or bricks.