Invocation for the Dawn of a Red State School Year

Welcome back, Students,

you might notice a few

changes this year:

We cannot teach you

Real History,

nor Real Social Studies,

no genocide nor slavery

no systems of iniquities

and no Real Science,

nor even Real Biology,

lest you learn too much about

chromosomes and biodiversity

and the preacher down the street

should happen to disagree...

And no Real Literature,

even the classics

which your parents

and grandparents learned

...and loved...

And don't worry,

we've emptied

the shelves

in the library

of so many Real Books

about Real Lives

and Real Loves

of Real People

and Real Experiences

including the Reality

that human babies

are not delivered by storks

and also, that sexual abuse:

rape, and molestation,

are very Real Things, too.

And we can neither

Acknowledge nor Affirm

who you Really Are:

not your Pronouns

not your Name

And we cannot discuss

your Real Family

and your very Real Parents

who Really love the Real You

if they do not fit the

Aryan Family Ideal.

No! Not even

if your grandparents

and great-grandparents

or perhaps even

your great-great grandparents

fought against this Nazi nonsense

nearly a century ago.

No, now, our Statehouses

and our Governors

fully embrace it

and demand it

for you've got to be

carefully taught*

lest the teachers be

fined and fired

the dollars add up

the careers fade away

And remember,

Red State Students,

you don't need College

to Succeed

for the Corporations

are your Salvation

and they need Bodies

to Consume

the younger the better

We'll defund any University here

who dares to offer 'DEI'

And remember,

We can't have you

learning elsewhere

what we won't teach you here.

After all...

If Education is Power,

then Empires would crumble

and Tyrants might fall...

--

*the lyric, "you've got to be carefully taught," comes from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, 'South Pacific,' which was frequently banned for discussing topics such as racism and interracial marriage. It was more recently quoted by Lin Manuel-Miranda in 'Hamilton.'

--

2024, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes. May be shared and reprinted with attribution. Le Anne is a former international human rights worker and peacemaker, prisoner of conscience, and pastor in the Presbyterian Church- PC(USA). She coordinates the Iowa Faith Leadership Network, Neurodiversity-Affirming Congregations, and the Center for Faith and Peacemaking. She resides and raises four children in Iowa, where a series of recent laws, including SF 496, ban books describing sex, LGBTQIA+ content, and other diversity-related content and materials from the public K-12 curriculum, and ban DEI support programs and content from public colleges and universities. Her most recent published work may be found in 'A Liturgy for All Bodies' (Cyclical, 2023).

Recent Ridiculousness, Right Here In River City...

 To briefly recap some recent ridiculousness, right here in River City, from the usual suspects:

1. 'We cannot possibly start any new projects to improve the city until the potholes are fixed, every last pothole, and there are no new potholes, forever. Only Mason City has potholes, and they keep having new potholes every year, and it is surely because we have bad leaders. All money for projects, even grant money, must be some taxpayer's money somewhere, and it would be better spent on fixing potholes, even if it's not legal to re-appropriate it for fixing potholes. Also: nobody ever does anything new or interesting around here. Our city leaders should definitely start some new projects or something interesting. I don't know why they don't try that. Just don't use any taxpayer or grant money to do it though.'

2. 'There are not enough high school marching bands in the Band Festival anymore. Surely this is because high schoolers Just Do Not Care, and not because the fifty school districts within driving distance fifty years ago have consolidated down to a fraction of that since the farm crisis. There are definitely more towns with high school bands in Minnesota. This definitely has nothing to do with the massive public education cuts made by the Iowa State legislature. It is definitely the fault of the local 'woke' school board. Also the local high school marching band can't possibly sound as good as it used to when it was under the Old Mascot.'

3. 'The local school board is full of 'Social Justice Warriors' who clearly hate teachers and that is why there's not an agreement on the teacher contract. The book-banning White Nationalist school board candidates who liked the Old Mascot and attacked trans students and hate immigrant students would definitely have given the teachers a better contract.'

4. 'There were never, ever, ever any Immigrant people who did not speak English in this town before. They all just showed up yesterday. My grandparents and great-grandparents spoke perfect English and never had to learn a new language when they got here five generations ago from [insert country]. The teachers back then never had to deal with immigrant children like they do now. No, don't show me any of your 'woke' historical photos or news clippings or the local cemetery or church records. Can't see how any of that would be relevant to this discussion.'

5. 'There aren't enough floats in the Band Festival. There need to be more floats. Why aren't there more floats? Also the parade is over two hours long. That's too much....'

(For the record, the Band Festival was one of the best in recent memory, and we had perfect weather for it Saturday. The bands were all amazing, especially our local band, and each high school band had an impressive number of kids participating given the size of their school districts. And there were at least 20 different languages being spoken in our local school district a century ago, many of them European and Eastern European, but also from around the world, due to our local industries).

Remarks to MCCSD School Board Regarding Teacher Contract Negotiations

Here's a copy of my notes from my public comments at tonight's Mason City Community School Board Meeting, on the occasion of a very difficult and stressful teacher contract negotiation:

Good evening,

I have four children in Mason City schools, and this next year I will have one each at Hoover, Lincoln, John Adams, and Mason City High School. I also serve on three schools' PTOs (Parent-Teacher Organizations), I am a parent liaison to the John Adams Leadership Team, I serve on the School Improvement Advisory Committee, and I am a substitute paraeducator at Pinecrest Center when I have the time.

I understand that I am in a room surrounded by people, both school board members and administrators and teachers, who care very deeply about my kids, and for this, I am profoundly grateful. We have been through an awful lot together, right in this room, especially over the past few years.

I understand that a lot of this situation is the State of Iowa putting us in a truly untenable position. Obviously, with the notable exception of our own Rep. Sharon Steckman, most of Iowa's state legislators are not teachers. I look forward to a year where we don't have to dread January and the complete bloodletting of public education that the Iowa State Legislature has in store for us.

This situation is enormously painful. I don't believe there is anyone involved in this process who has malevolent intent. However, we do live in fearful and uncertain times.

I do know what it is like to have to work two, three, or even four extra jobs to make ends meet while practicing a vocation that I love--and I know there are teachers in the room and in our district who already have to do the same.

I know what it means to have to worry about the sustainability of practicing the vocation I love.

If there is any possible creative way we can ease the financial burden, not only on our teachers, but also on our district, then I hope that we will do that. We have to find a solution that is workable, because we have excellent teachers, and I do not want to lose a single one. I also want us to be able to recruit as many as we need for many more years to come.

I know that it is a terribly difficult time to be a school board, to be a school teacher, or even to be a school administrator. Let's do whatever we can to lessen the burdens we are experiencing right now. Maybe this means that we look to what other districts are trying--maybe we need to consider ideas like changing the school calendar, writing more grants for after-school clubs, or other community-based grants for supplies and other things we need. I am very willing to help however I can. I also think we need to look at ways we can increase our enrollment, and the WelcomeCorps is a good opportunity to do that in significant numbers over the next few years, which would add revenue to the district. Again, I would love to help however we can.

Thank you very much for your time.