School Board Org. Can't Read Blogs or Constitution

(You mess with one blog, you mess with the whole family!)

Dakota War College comments on a snarky editorial directed at his hallowed pages by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota. Last month DWC challenged a proposal by the Aberdeen school board to mandate drug testing of all students, calling it a violation of the right against self-incrimination, an inversion of the presumption of innocence, and further encroachment of the dreaded nanny state. (While not quite so convinced the nanny state is coming to diaper us all, the Madville Times expressed support for DWC's defense of constitutional principles.)

Evidently some high functionaries of educational administrivia felt threatened -- yes, threatened -- by DWC's exercise of free speech. The Sep. 28 Bulletin of the ASBSD (boards need a board of their own, apparently) runs an editorial saying DWC's Pat Powers went too far. I post the complete text here, with added emphasis on the real howlers, so we may recognize the full fallaciousness of this simpering drivel:

An Aberdeen American News story that informed the community about an upcoming panel discussion [see ASBSD story] sparked fire from a South Dakota political pundit and blogger last month.

And while we respect the right for people to voice opinions, we’re troubled at the message sent by South Dakota War College, one of the more influential blogs in South Dakota.

The author, a Brookings resident, [1] condemned the Aberdeen Board of Education for scheduling a public forum designed to allow school leaders to gather community feedback on the structure and scope of the drug testing program.

After taking aim at mandatory drug testing programs, and labeling them as an infringement on student and parents rights, the blogger said "parents that have a lick of sense should be looking into recall petitions for the school board members as we speak."

It’s common for motivated citizens to [2] react strongly – just like the blogger did – to sensitive situations. In this case, though, the threatening tone, along with a suggestion to overthrow the school board, [3] crosses the line.

As community leaders, the school board has a responsibility to engage their community and collect information to help guide decisions.

The board hasn’t made any decisions. They’ve simply scheduled a discussion.

We expect some citizens to disapprove and criticize decisions made by government bodies, but [4] it’s dangerous to start criticizing discussion.

[5] Discussion is essential to our form of government. Thankfully, the Aberdeen Board of Education still knows the value of public discourse.

Talk about missing the point. Either the ASBSD Bulletin editors didn't read the DWC post on drug testing, or they deliberately misrepresented it. Let's go point by point:

1. DWC never condemned the Aberdeen School Board for calling a meeting. DWC carries a quote from the Aberdeen American News mentioning the scheduled panel discussion, but never mentions the forum himself. The DWC post focused entirely on the proposed drug-testing policy.
   
2. The ASBSD editors appear to be ascribing emotional language to DWC's comments in an effort to poo-poo the argument. "React strongly" is code for "getting emotional" and "being irrational." DWC is on occasion full of crap, but even then remains pretty rational. The baseless accusation of a "threatening tone" (DWC threatening? please...) is further evidence of either thin skin or an ad hominem attempt to deflect criticism by smearing the speaker and ignoring his argument.
   
3. "crosses the line"? What line? The line of libel? No, there was no false or defamatory speech. The line of sedition? No, there was no call for armed rebellion, just recall petitions, a fine democratic way of solving problems, and one that should be exercised on the editors of the ASBSD Bulletin (oh, now the Madville Times is reacting strongly and adopting a threatening tone...).
4. "dangerous to start criticizing discussion." Gee, the only folks doing that are the ASBSD editors. Oops.
5. The Aberdeen School Board may know the value of discussion to democracy. DWC certainly does. The ASBSD editors, however, appear to have lost touch with that principle.

The Madville Times remains a passionate supporter of education. However, the ASBSD Bulletin editors' misrepresentation of DWC's comments, as well as the self-contradictory nature of the ASBSD's rhetoric, doesn't cast the South Dakota education establishment in a good light. Perhaps the best way to read the ASBSD's comments is as a minor incident of miffed functionaries in Pierre misperceiving a threat to their status, not an expression of the mindset of the teachers who actually work with your kids to teach them about free speech and democracy.

Let's hope the ASBSD will spend a little less time fussing about its "brand identity" and call its Bulletin editors to task for ignoring the principles South Dakota schools are supposed to teach.