The World Around You

Here is my response to a published piece in which I was quoted last week:

While I was accurately quoted by reporter Carla Crowder in last Sunday’s article on the DARE program, I feel I need to present some additional information.

First, prevention works. There should be no battle between the drug courts and the prevention field for funds. We are all part of the same cycle, and those involved with the drug courts would agree it would be better to spend resources on the front end to reduce the number of people who end up in the justice system.

Second, we have made huge strides in identifying what works in preventing substance abuse among youths. We know that teaching them skills to resolve conflicts, deal with stress and make good decisions has a strong impact on their ability to be healthy citizens. We know that healthy bonding with a constructive adult is extremely important to young people.

Third, the approach to substance abuse in a given community should be unique to that community. Sometimes, you must address the availability of activities for youths. In some communities, you need to address access, working with law enforcement to eliminate the sources of drugs and alcohol in the community. Or, you may need to work with parents to educate them on the dangers of allowing underage drinking in their home.

No one person or program is going to reduce the level of drug abuse in Alabama. Only all of us working together will make the difference. Assaulting one program that is trying to make a change is not helpful or necessary.

Kristopher

The Montgomery Advertiser has published my latest letter to the editor under the headline above:

First, the Governor was lying about the $675 million. Now that those cuts have come to fruition, just like he said, he’s being vindictive. The people of Alabama don’t deserve a leader like Governor Riley. He’s too good for the citizens of this state. I didn’t vote for the man, but he has tried harder to do the right thing than any leader this state has ever known and he gets zero appreciation for it.

He and his staff have spent more time with these budgets than anybody in their right mind should be allowed. If anyone has a better solution, they should have suggested it. A solution is not, “There have to be better places to cut.” Name them. A solution is not, “All those state workers need to take a pay cut.” Do you know what the average salary is for a state worker? Do you know that all of Governor Riley’s department heads took significant paycuts to come to Montgomery? It’s easy to criticize when you don’t have the first clue, it’s much harder to come up with a solution.

The truth is, most of us don’t have the time or inclination to delve into the details that far. That’s why we pay our legislators and the Governor. Let them do their job and offer your constructive, informed criticism, but not your useless uninformed “ideas”.

I had a letter to the editor published in both the Montgomery Advertiser and the Birmingham News this morning. The Advertiser entitled it “Plan example of give and take”, the News called it “A New Day for Alabama?”.

I have a wake-up call for Alabamians regarding the vote on Sept. 9. Guess what? Nobody is getting everything they want in this package. That’s why it’s a good package, on the whole. It gives something to almost everyone and it takes from almost everyone. This is exactly what any good plan should do.

Give and take is what makes a democracy work. Some have suggested that we should have the accountability provisions without the funds, and some want the new money without the accountability. Neither would work.

I ask each and every citizen of this state to look in the mirror and ask him/herself if he/she is insane. Because one definition of insanity is to keep doing what you’ve always done, expecting different results. We are never going to see real change unless we stop doing what we’ve always done.

This plan may not be perfect — no plan ever will be — but this governor has given Alabama the opportunity to take that first step. There is absolutely no doubt we are at a crossroads and I fear Alabamians will not choose to take the path toward the “New Day” that this governor promised in his campaign. What a sad, sad decision that will be.

The Birmingham News published another of my Letters to the Editor, entitled State Punishing Good Teachers:

I am deeply distressed by the way the state Department of Education has handled the “highly qualified teacher” provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. I deal with this legislation on a daily basis, and the department has drastically misinterpreted the law’s requirements.

I thank the state Board of Education for questioning the plan and hope its members will craft something that meets the requirements of the law, but does not go out of its way to punish good teachers and confuse the public.

There should be flexibility in the definition to give teachers time to meet the requirements outlined; a lot of good teachers are going to be deemed not “highly qualified” based on only one or two college courses.

Most important, Alabama should follow South Carolina and other states in meeting the parental notification requirement by making information about teachers’ qualifications available to parents. All parents in the state should get a letter, advising them of their right under the law to see the teachers’ qualifications. This is not in dispute.

There is no requirement to send a letter to the parents of each and every student whose teacher is not “highly qualified,” informing them of this fact. Why the Department of Education insists on going beyond the letter of the law is baffling.

The intent of the law was not to panic parents, but for the state to make progress toward ensuring every child has a qualified teacher in the classroom.

Another of my letters to the editor was published in the June 1st Montgomery Advertiser-Consider Sound Reasons to Support Our Biscuits.

Please take a look at my letter to the editor published in the Sunday Birmingham News: Alabama Doesn’t Have to Be Last.

Another of my Letters to the Editor was published in the Montgomery Advertiser this morning (Good Schools Benefit All)