Addressing problems in public is difficult enough in a society where every single word can be recorded and parsed. Addressing issues involving governmental entities bring about greater difficulties. However, addressing wrongs in as "revered" an institution as a public school brings some of the strongest men and women to stone silence.

Wrongs that parents see, or even hear of, must first pass the muster of "I can't believe this could happen here!" This belief comes from the idea that everyone in the community is "just like me;" therefore people in the school system could only be of higher moral quality than myself. While this idea is noble, it is somewhat misguided in that it falsely believes that we, as individuals, are of a lower self-worth than teachers.

This lack of moral equivalency comes from where we remember the great teachers of the past that challenged us. We fondly remember our kindly Miss Honey of Matilda who saw elementary school children as a source of joy to be gently spurred onward. We remember with great admiration that high school teacher who was so tough that most of the men storming the beaches of Normandy would break down and cry in front of her (because she was probably there with them charging the strafing fire!)

We also look back on how our parents handled school problems, it was usually out of our sight or earshot. This was done in an effort to make certain that we respected our elders. Even more so, some problems were brushed off by our parents as "you need to eat a little crow every now and then."

Nevertheless, some problems rise above these outdated beliefs. Where these types of problems arise, we have yielded our Freedom of Speech to community expediency for the sake of not drawing attention to ourselves or our children. It is our own silence that has afforded these situations to fester to the point that problems are coming out of even the small, down-home school systems.

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