Community Patriots Manatee

Things To Be Thankful For
In Manatee County

Every day we hear what is wrong and what is not going our way.

We do have plenty of things to be grateful for at this time of year. 

I have relentlessly worked hard at getting the inappropriate books out of the school libraries. It has been an uncompromising and unstoppable mission for the last two years. There were ups and downs, wins and losses, but with any good fight, this is to be expected. We knew what the outcome had to be and there was no wavering, no making concessions, no retreating. 

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”   Sun Tzu

Lessons have been learned and many things uncovered. This is path to success. You must break it down to rebuild. Once the smoke clears we can see the vision forward. 

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”

Sun-Tzu,

The first year of our battle was the awareness which created new legislation, state laws, and guidelines. Is this perfect…NO but it is a start. This year there is a new superintendent, new staffing, new statutes, and moms not willing to give up the fight. We are also combating the left as they try at every turn to undo our wins. That’s OK because the Truth and God will prevail. 

Last year 42 books were submitted as inappropriate, with 16 of them completely removed. The titles that were not eliminated were put back in the libraries under “parental consent.” This was not a compromise or a resolution to the problem. The erotic books were still in the schools which gives the impression that the district approves and advocates for this to be used as a teaching tool for children. 

A book committee was assembled to make these final determinations. Below you will see that the committee was comprised of mostly curriculum department heads, media specialists, principals, and two parents. One parent never attended – nor were they replaced with a new parent, and the other one was an employee at the district. This process was not effective. 

I attended as a community member as these meetings were open to the public. I was the one who submitted the list of books along with documentation and the reasoning for the removal. If you don’t follow up and follow through nothing gets done and your odds for winning diminish greatly. 

Fast forward to this year, there are new processes in place. Once we submit a form, (P.S. you can too) the principal of the school that houses that book in their library will make the determination along with their media specialist. This is a much more efficient process and obtaining quicker results. Since October we have submitted 32 books. Slowly the notifications are coming back informing us that each one has been removed that was sent to a principal. Hooray!! Here are just a few examples.

The district website has not been completely updated as they are having a hard time keeping up with our submissions. This is called being on the offensive end. 

“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” Sun Tzu, 

As a committee member now on the Social Study Curriculum Advisory Board, I have received more insight into the inner workings of the machine.  We are evaluating the publishers and deciding which high school history, government, and economics, will make the cut for curricula for the next 5 years.

Be a part of the solution, not part of the problem. 

“Great results, can be achieved with small forces.”

Sun Tzu, 

I wanted to give you a little hope and thankfulness when things look like defeat and to remember: 

  • We must be victorious before going into battle. 

  • In the midst of chaos, there is always an opportunity to be had.

  • Breaking the resistance can be done with good communication.

  • Great results are achieved in small steps. 

We have many wins in Manatee County and we need to feel blessed and to be grateful for each one of them even if they seem small. Rome was not built in a day. You must start with a firm foundation. Building a wall takes one brick at a time. 

I hope you find the wins in your life and celebrate them as small and insignificant as you may think they are. Together we are the building blocks for the next generation. 

Be proud of your accomplishments and those around you.

Manatee Moms and Dads!

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