Protecting American Ideals

Things of value made available to theft are stolen .       That is the Axiom of Theft. Axiom, by  definition, is a self-evident truth. If it isn’t self-evident to you, try these experiments: Rest your ultra-light mountain bike outside the local coffee shop out of view and catch up with an old friend inside. Place your laptop conspicuously in the back seat and spend a lazy afternoon at the mall. Order something large and flat- screened in shape and have Amazon deliver it to your porch. It may not happen immediately, but once delivered, the countdown to liftoff is on.  Things of value made available to theft are stolen.      Elections are valuable. Traditionally, they direct resources and priorities with outcomes that serve some but not others. Presently, they also determine the path down which 50-percent of the country will not go: The removal of perceived rights, the advancement of race-essentialism, the desire to reverse climatological trend, the stripping of American heritage and his

     The Nevada Union High School District went through tumultuous years in 2021 and 2022, and 2023 is likely to see more upheaval. Under the leadership of the last District Superintendent, a few sympathetic Board Members, teachers, administrators and student activists, the District began a journey into Critical Race Theory (CRT) in 2020 and 2021. The Superintendent’s Task Force on Anti-racism and Inclusivity convened and generated a list of recommendations to advance race, gender, and sexual orientation initiatives for consideration by the Board of Trustees (BOT). These recommendations included “re- imagining” student discipline, hiring a “ Dean of Equity ”, studying micro-aggressions, and urging the District to openly adopt Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion-based principles in its website and course materials. It should be noted that the District’s existing policy (Policy 0410), and California Education Code (Section 220), both specifically prohibit harassment and discrimination based

Notes For January 2023 Meeting The Chicago Park Board of Trustees meeting that took place 1/18/23 had no immediate issues to address.  There was a 6% raise that increased pay for all employees.  A presentation of the yearly audit, which had some faults, but it was due to the chaotic filing and fulfillment of independent study that effected all schools during the “distance learning” phase.  Before we dove into the discussions of the LCAP, and I had to leave, I made a public comment regarding my concerns of their “Goals” which reads as follows: “Chicago Park’s mission is to provide a well-rounded program that prepares students for 21 st century success in all areas of academics by offering unique and individualized services in math, science, technology, and character development.  We emphasize a safe and nurturing environment and graduate responsible students who respect and advocate for the rights of others”… My concern is that if a school begins their goals with the intent of creat

  Hit : to Karen England, founder of the California Resource Institute, who received the 2022 American Hero Award from the American Council, for her unwavering fight to promote a pro-family, pro-parent, pro-life, pro-faith society.   Hit : to the Superintendent of the Penn Valley Union Elementary School District for having an open door morning coffee the first Wednesday of every month at 8 am. Miss : on the recent California State CAASP standardized test, less than 50 percent of the students in the Nevada Joint Union High School District were proficient in English and less than 30 percent were proficient in Mathematics. Maybe the school board should question what is more important in this District:  promoting academic excellence or promoting equity (equal outcomes)?   Contributor: Editorial Board Member, Thea Hood, The Union Newspaper, Grass Valley, CA

  OPEN COMMENT: 1/11/23 President Ganski and Members of the 2023 Board of Trustees – as you start the 2023 term, I’d like to draw your attention to the following data points: California State CAASP testing at Nevada County High Schools for 2022 indicate that District students scored in the 50 th percentile for English-Language Arts (ELA) comprehension and the 25 th percentile for mathematics.    Half don’t meet the ELA standard; 3 in 4 don’t meet the math standard. According to a June 23, 2022 Nevada County Grand Jury Report entitled: “The Lesson Never Learned”, District enrollment between 2010 and 2020 decreased by 27%.  Approximately one in four students left the District.  And that was before the pandemic.  The State mandated Average Daily Attendance figures for 2019-2020 be used for 2020 through 2022.  In reality, the decline is probably much more serious. I ask that the Board focus on the following for 2023: Impress upon the administration and the teachers within the Dist

OPEN COMMENT: 1/11/23 I haven’t met most of you personally—just Duwaine  Ganski—so let me introduce myself.  My name is Judy Wood and 1½ years ago we formed a group called Protecting American ideals.  Our mission is to educate the community about critical theory (wokeism) in Nevada County schools when an ideology breaches fundamental American principles.   The primary American principle –what Alexis de Toqueville called the Mother idea—is the ideal of Equality.  This idea is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence—All Men Are Created Equal and informs all other principles.  By equal we mean equal in station of birth (no one is born to rule over others); equal in opportunity; equal before the law.  And we have constitutional protections and civil rights laws that uphold this principle. Equity means equal outcomes—equal results.  Those who seek to destroy this country have properly seized on “equity” as a means to destroy equality.  Some in this district argue that equity means e

  Over the past several years a tsunami called Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has swept through the education landscape of the United States, and Nevada County is no exception. In the monthly county education newsletter, called “the Nugget” (https://nevco.org/the-nugget-newsletter/), SEL is prominently displayed and obviously practiced throughout our districts. The November Nugget devotes an entire page to “Social Emotional Learning Community of Practice” and describes a specific class called “Being Anti-Biased in Education”. Both the December and January Nuggets do the same. So what is this educational craze that has so thoroughly captivated our county? Ten or more years ago SEL was a method used to help a troubled individual child with issues of character development—empathy, building relationships, managing emotions, etc. Today it is a comprehensive system focusing on all children’s morals, values, and beliefs. The largest and most influential company supporting this doctrine i