Some people seem to believe that no one without a college degree should be able to serve on the school board.
Many people with degrees don't have horse sense to use their knowledge in a practical way. I have known innumerable "uneducated" individuals who showed great wisdom and were very smart in practical ways.
We would be very fortunate if we were to have some humble, wise, well-educated people serving as leaders in all offices. We may have some wise people, perhaps, but there seems to be a lack of humility among them.
I would be amiss — and I could not resist, even if I wanted to, if I didn't poke a little fun at Susan Stroup's remarks the day she was sworn in on the Burke County Board of Education. To quote: "It's not about me, it's about we." Perhaps a retired principal should brush up on her grammar. No, I didn't complete her quote. After the gaffe she corrected her use of the object of the preposition by correctly using "us, the stakeholders."
Which brings up this word "stakeholders" introduced by that revered body brought in to crucify this terrible board. This word was seized upon by the SWAT Team and their cohorts; one letter writer even used it eight times in his one missive. My curiosity was aroused. It wasn't in the first dictionary, but in the next it defined "stakeholder" as "one who holds the pot for gamblers until the winner is declared." I hope we are not in that category.
Editor's note: University business schools originated the concept of corporate "stakeholders" in the 1960s. It originally meant "those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist." Now in general use, the word "stakeholder" means "a person, group, organization or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions." In SACS CASI's definition of education standards, stakeholders include (but are not limited to) the district's residents and subgroups such as taxpayers, parents, students, teachers and other school staff, the business community, the faith community, the minority community, local government, etc.
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