It is usually wise for your newspaper Editor to remain neutral on controversial topics; however, as a parent and Aunt of children in our Cordell school system, I feel compelled by my conscience to take a stand for our school.
As you may have read in recent Letters to the Editor and in posts on social media, there appears to be two warring factions in our community- those who are against our Superintendent and most members of our Board of Education, and those who are in favor of him and place their trust in our Board of Education. Those against seem to be the most vocal. Perhaps those who support Mr. Victory and our Board fear retaliation, alienation, or are simply not the kind to make a statement.
For me, this issue runs much deeper. Our most precious hope for the future lies in our children and the choices they will make the rest of their lives. Planting seeds of hatred in their hearts and minds towards anyone, much less a leader of their school, is toxic and dangerous. They are being shaped every day by what they see and hear.
If you think Mr. Victory running our school system is damaging our children and their education, perhaps you need to think about the words your children are hearing at the dinner table, on car rides, in your living room. They should be free to wake up every morning with joy in their hearts and a positive attitude towards learning. How can they feel positive when they overhear stories about their peers who just happen to have parents on the School Board, discussions about how ‘all the good teachers’ have left our school system, and reports of mistreatment of their beloved teachers by Administration?
These are issues that should not concern children at all. Worrying about these things has no place in their developing minds and emotions.
Back to Mr. Victory: Cordell had the same Superintendent for decades. There were times when the tide of public opinion turned very much against Mr. Overton, and there were times he was considered a wonderful leader. People are fickle and quick to judge.
Mr. Victory already had a huge burden in taking over a job held by the same person for so many years. Change is hard. We don’t ever adapt easily. It is hard for personnel to follow a new leader, and I dare to say that many of them may have been held accountable for the first time in their careers. A good leader pushes for improvement.
I have not been a witness to some of the things that I hear complaints about concerning the way Mr. Victory handles conflicts with teachers and support personnel. If all the tales are true, then absolutely some things should have been handled differently. However, in any given occupation there are always employees who don’t like the ‘boss.’ Some people simply don’t get along and this makes for unhappiness in the workplace. My Dad always taught me that you should never criticize the person who provides your paycheck. You should seek out another job and leave. Although Mr. Victory doesn’t actually provide the paycheck, the gist is the same.
It is true that some wonderful educators have left our school system. People leave jobs for all kinds of reasons and each of them had their reason. It doesn’t destroy our school because some teachers leave. We still have many, many amazing teachers here in Cordell! It is a terrible disservice to them to say ‘all the good teachers’ have been ‘run off’. It hurts my heart every time I hear that because I personally have so much respect and love for every teacher that has touched my child’s life here in Cordell. Some of them have left and that makes me sad, but I hope that they have found a great situation and are happy with their new schools.
Friends and neighbors, we can do better than this! Having a negative attitude and criticizing our fellow citizens, spewing hate and ugly words, terrorizing our Board of Education members and their children, and failing to support our school system as a whole is not the answer. Please remember who you are and how we have been taught by older generations to show unwavering respect and support to our educators and other school employees.
The way to ‘turn the school around’ is to come together in agreement that we support our children and wish to lift them up, not bring them down. It all boils down to that. Negativity does nothing but breed more negativity. Positivity fosters positivity. Having an ‘axe to grind’ has no place in our school.