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Another great question posed to me today. . . do I support TEKS? First let’s ask how did students learn in the past and how do they learn now? In early America, children were often called to the front of the classroom to recite lessons out loud. Passages from the Bible, arithmetic tables, or classical texts were used. The goal was accuracy, memory, and the ability to explain knowledge in public. Written work was also a central feature: essays, letters, and speeches required students to build arguments, defend their positions, and communicate their reasoning. In these settings, answers were either right or wrong, or they required a thoughtful explanation. Guessing was not an option. Fast forward to today, and the classroom looks very different. Students are most often assessed through multiple-choice tests, fill-in-the-blank exercises, and true/false questions. These tools became popular with the rise of standardized testing. They make it easier to evaluate large groups of students quickly and compare results across districts. But they also come with trade-offs: quick-answer testing may encourage memorization or guessing, while giving less space for creativity, persuasion, and critical thought. Extended essays and oral defenses of ideas still exist, but they occupy a much smaller role in modern education than they once did. This leaves us with an important question for today: Which approach has given us better results — the older emphasis on essays, speeches, and right-or-wrong mastery, or the newer focus on quick, standardized testing? What do you think? Bonus: What are ideas we could implement in today’s classrooms or at home to enhance the older, successful way of learning while still adhering to current requirements? I’ll share one in the comments to get things rolling. . . Note: TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which are the state standards for public school education in Texas from kindergarten through 12th grade. TEKS are the learning goals that guide what teachers teach and what students are expected to know in Texas schools. Bottomline - TEKS are not going away anytime soon and we have to have ways to measure success. I would like to see creative ways to ensure students know right from wrong answers without prompts and also see more oral or written persuasive presentations. Conservatives vs Establishment for school board - November 4, 2025 election Vote for: Monica Brown David Rogers Jessica Wark #knowourhistory #learningfromthepast #inittowinit2025  Texas Education Code §28.004(i-1) & (i-2): “A school district may not contract with, or accept resources from, an abortion provider or an affiliate of an abortion provider. A district employee may not provide to a student human sexuality instruction or instructional materials, directly or indirectly, from an abortion provider or an affiliate.” This comes from SB 22 (2019), passed by the Texas Legislature to ensure abortion providers stay out of our public schools. That means: No Planned Parenthood curriculum in classrooms No “resources” from them on district websites or social media No back-door partnerships through affiliates If Planned Parenthood is being promoted by a Texas school district, it is not just inappropriate — it is illegal.  A website that links to prohibited information can be considered to be promoting that information, especially if it does so knowingly or encourages infringement. The legality and terms of a link vary significantly depending on the specific type of prohibited content, the context of the link, and the laws of the applicable jurisdiction. I contend Granbury ISD is doing MORE HARM than good. By law they share the Suicide Precention Hotline phone number - adding the website to the Granbury ISD website is taking things too far and is breaking Texas Law as well as violating written District policy. Also - why not a local number for local help?  Granbury - draw a line in the sand this November. Parents First - Every voice heard, every concern answered - no more knee-jerk dismissal of Grievances Open Doors - Vetted Community Members BACK inside the building - Parents, Retired Teachers, Veterans Transparency Always - No MORE backroom “deals” Respect back to the Voters - No Irresponsible Bonds Competition for EVERY Contract - Save money, protect taxpayers - serve students - PERIOD Full Accountability - no conflict of interest - PUBLIC service, not SELF servicRotate Auditors - no more “COOKED BOOKS” Parents as Partners - PHYSICALLY present and encouraged Common-sense Spaces - Girls with girls, boys with boys - reasonable and reliable - no nonsense Value Teachers - find out what they need and make it happen No Perks or Abuse - No airplane fiascos ever again Respect for Citizen Input - Open mic instead of cut mics and constant interruption by the Establishment Fiscal Responsibility - No new revenue tax rate or EVEN LOWER - Protect the community longterm Academic Focus - Up with Reading and Math Scores - Accurate Inspirational History and Resources Bring Back Heroes - In person and in the form of biographies Enforce Policy - Trustees, Administration, Teachers and Students Earn Back Trust - EVERY dollar and policy out in the open - no more begging for public information request and getting the run-around Merit Matters - Achievement and hard work FIRST. Absolutely NO DEI Meeting Transparency - DETAILED Agendas with easy to access full disclosure of information - instead of meaningless memos Compete for Legal Services - No more Walsh and Gallegos - they’ve got to go! Good bye to TASB - Hello to Constitution Honoring Policies Competitive Independent Thinking vs. Establishment Mindset aka “we’ve always done it this way” mindset Vote FOR David Rogers, Monica Brown, Jessica Wark  Actions speak louder! My stepdad’s influence has been invaluable; as a Fire Department Driver, rescue diver, and part-time welder. He shared many stories along with my mom at our dinner table. He regularly shared the disheartening fact that many people choose to do nothing in critical situations. His message was simply: If you see something wrong and do nothing to stop it, you’re helping it happen  Endorsed by True Texas Project! Monica Brown, David Rogers and Jessica Wark for Granbury ISD School Board Election 2025  Question: How do we bridge the gap for students who are not on reading on grade level and who may be economically disadvantaged? Reading Boot Camp Hits the Mark! Lead by a Retired Teacher (40 years in education) No more "establishment mentality". Vote FOR Brown, Rogers and Wark and see every campus brought to an A Rating and more students reading at or above grade level. No to Townsend and Crew. https://www.readingbootcamprocks.com/  Folks, below is a little insight into the school board meetings that many are fed up with. Citizens stand up, they speak — and the board president, Courtney Gore, cuts them off. Gore regularly violates 1st Amendment rights. The schools belong to the people, not the politicians on the board. (verify by watching the last three board meetings) Board President Courtney Gore is sitting on the Board of Trustees for United Way of Hood County and worked in the background as a Trustee of Granbury ISD to hand property over to her BFF’s at United Way. Granbury ISD has contracts that need competition instead, we have the same accounting firm (and law firm for that matter) for decades, questionable practices with no competition. Literally a swamp, right here in Granbury. And the insurance debacle just a week ago? Year after year, taxpayers got soaked — hundreds of thousands wasted. Then a better, less expensive but more comprehensive deal came along and the board said NO. Who says no to saving money? Only people who don’t care about you. (Can someone say “Teacher bonus money and incentives?” To the tune of savings of an estimated $250,000 per year. (this doesn’t include better coverage benefits and LOWER deductibles) And remember the airplane scandal — a high-paid administrator flying around in a school district airplane, with his wife on board too. Folks, it’s outrageous. This is a school district, and we as citizens are not Automatic Teller Machines. Three failed bonds, rising taxes, backdoor hikes on your home, while classrooms get shortchanged. And the worst part — parents are ignored. They bring in outside programs with questionable roots (Communities in Schools) while shutting out community members who want to volunteer. Nothing replaces local leadership. Nothing. Granbury doesn’t need more insiders, cronies, or cover-ups. We need leaders who listen to parents, respect taxpayers, and put kids first. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. (Rogers, Wark and Brown) We’re going to bring back accountability. We’re going to bring back common sense. And yes, folks, we’re going to drain the swamp — right here in Granbury ISD! Vote NO to the establishment mindset of Townsend (decades on the board of GISD) , Lawrence (longtime educator) and Neal (former Hyde Law firm Attorney)l  How to Bridge the Gap for Economically Disadvantaged Students Article Excerpts: “Tutors in class, after school and on Saturdays” “And schools offer tutoring before, during and after school, plus Saturday and summer programs for the district’s 17,000 students, said Superintendent Darin Brawley.” https://apnews.com/.../math-reading-school-district-test... Vote FOR - Brown, Rogers, and Wark - Getting the job done! Inittowinit2025! Where every school becomes “A” Rated!  |
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