Video Highlights of the Forum

This past weekend, the League of Women Voters in Richardson posted their video on the forum.  As voters are going to the polls either participating in early voting or later on election day, November 6, I want to illustrate my views on the forum. 

The length of the video is 43 minutes long, the actual forum (minus all of the introductory remarks) begins at 3:45.  14 questions were asked during this forum.  They ranged to what we thought was the mission of the State Board of Education is to numerous questions on curriculum. 

Many of the highlights of forum occured during the middle of the forum between the 12:00 mark of the video to the 26:00 minute mark.  Most of the questions revolved around my number one issue- curriculum- an issue that will obviously impact our children each and every school day.  Here were the specific things of note I noticed.

12:06- Asked question- Will we spend time with teachers on curriculum?

Here I point out, I have been a teacher my entire professional life and my service on the DISD school board for 10 years.  I am directly involved professionally as a professor of humanities at Richland College, after all now.  So, either way, I will spend time with teachers. 

Book written by Bill Ames

Mrs. Miller in her reply at the 13:45 mark, merely says she interviews retired and active teachers.  But does not cite any specific examples until she introduces at the 14:25 minute mark- Bill Ames (see link here from Texas Freedom Network) by name to the audience, a Republican Party activist, who is not an educator at all.   In fact, Mrs. Miller at the 15:00 minute mark mentions him as an expert in history.  In another question on curriculum, regarding the role of advisory committes, Ames in mentioned twice by Miller at the 16:00 and 17:00 minute marks on the video. 

Republican Party activist Bill Ames

19:00- Incorporating Scientific Method Into Curriculum

I am for promoting a fact based curriculum based on physical evidence and reliable, scholarly research.  Mrs. Miller, avoided answering this question completely by talking about her expertise with phonics and her related positions with reading.  I am upset the moderator in the forum did not insist on a direct answer from Mrs. Miller on this question.  This is direct evidence that she will NOT stand up to individuals within her party trying to promote ideology over what is practical fact in the scientific curriculum, as depicted in the recently-released film "The Revisionaries." 

24:30- On Health and Teen Pregnancy issues

Texas for many years have had among the high rates of teen pregnancy of any state in the nation.
My position is simply this as I pointed out in the forum- "Knowledge is power."  Our kids are not being given the resources they need to protect themselves.  At the 25:40 minute mark, Mrs. Miller talks about what she and the state legislature did in 1995 and essentially defends the status quo allowing individual schools to NOT take responsibility to educate students on these topics.