Sioux City Journal

Former teachers should not sit on school board

Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008

SIOUX CITY -- I received a post card in the mail stating that I should vote for Jackie Warnstadt for school board because of her 44 years of experience as a teacher. Mrs. Warnstadt may be a very nice person and I am aware that she had won a Teacher of the Year Award, but being a teacher for 44 years does not qualify a person for the school board any more than working on an assembly line qualifies a person to be CEO of General Motors.

Do you want the National Education Association administering your school system? I don't. I believe the NEA is one of the reasons our school system is failing the children of our great country.

I have nothing against Mrs, Warnstadt, I just feel that no former teacher should be allowed to sit on the school board. Besides the obvious conflicts of interest these union members will have, simply being a teacher in no way qualifies you to sit on the board of a multi-million-dollar enterprise. -- Mark Solheim

Story Comments

Diogenes wrote on Sep 11, 2008 11:19 AM:

" Steve, although it might be fun for you to pretend that you know what the word "democracy" means, you are wrong. According to the "New Oxford American Dictionary," the meaning of democracy is: "a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."

A democracy is a form of government--over 200 years ago, educated people would have said that there were three forms of government: monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy. (See Samuel Johnsons dictionary.) The word "republic" does not refer to a type of government, but to a description of a state. Two hundred years ago, "republick" would have been defined as a state in which power is lodged in more than one. (Johnson again.)

When Paul wrote: "Democracy and republic are both words that describe our type of government," he was correct. "

Paul wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:38 AM:

" Steve, for an educated man, not only do you have a problem with proper spelling, but you also have "tunnel vision" when it comes to reading comprehension. I never said I was wrong and I never said the words democracy and republic were interchangeable. The words bright and yellow are not interchangeable, but they both describe the sun. Try reading more carefully and really think about it before you respond. You are correct that our country was founded, and is a republic, but we no longer live in the times of James Madison and Ben Franklin. Our local, state and federal governments have evolved over the years and the current definition of "democracy" does describe aspects of our government. I stand by my statement that democracy and republic (although not interchangeable) are both words that describe our government. "

Steve wrote on Sep 10, 2008 6:02 PM:

" Paul, I am glad to see that you have admitted that you were wrong and that this is a Republic and not a democracy. Glad you have finally seen the light. "

Paul wrote on Sep 10, 2008 11:43 AM:

" Steve, you declared yourself the victor in this debate, yet you still want to debate. The letter was about a teacher serving on the school board. I think "wondering" summed it up quite nicely. "

Steve wrote on Sep 9, 2008 6:45 PM:

" Paul wrote on Sep 8, 2008 5:53 PM:
"... The United States of America has moved away from its republican roots and become more "democratic," ...

Paul, please point out which Constitutional Ammendments changed our Republic into a democracy. "