The Moment of Truth

I suppose that I am not unusual among men
who have not been in a firefight,
who wonder what they would do in a firefight.

Would I have the courage to return aimed fire?
Or would I hide?

Most men never find out, because they never end up in
a situation that really tests their mettle; not really.

We have have to settle for less demanding tests; and
hope that we pass at least, all of those.

Winston Brooks mettle is to be tested.

Does he have the character and the courage
to be a role model of the character, and of the courage
that we want out children to acquire as they grow up
in the Albuquerque Public Schools?

Does he have the character and the courage to defy
Paula Maes, Modrall and the good ol' boys in the APS,
by putting the issue of administrative role modeling
on the stakeholders table?


Winston Brooks three days in,
and already a pivotal decision to make;

either lead the APS in to a future
free of corruption and incompetence
in an institution where character really does count,

or lead the APS
along the same dismal path of corruption and incompetence;
hiring more and more Monica Armentas to try to cover up
even more scandals and even more failing schools.

There is a correlation between standards
of conduct and competence, and institutional success.

APS is institutionally unsuccessful because it is
a good ol' boys club with no meaningful standards
of conduct or competence; and

no way of holding anybody honestly accountable
for squandering the public trust and treasure.


Winston Brooks,
This is your moment of truth.

You can stand up and return aimed fire at
the corrupt and the incompetent good ol' boys

by putting Character Counts and
the Administrative Accountability Audit
on the table where stakeholders can see them.

Or,

you can join the corrupt and incompetent cowards, and
hide with them behind their pathetic, disgraceful, little wall.


It is hard to imagine a clearer choice.

Or a more fitting test of a quarter of a million dollar a year
superintendent's mettle.

Godspeed, Sir.



Nor can I imagine a more important time for stakeholders
to express their interest in the issues of Character Counts
and Meaningful Standards of conduct and competence
for the public servants who administer the public schools,

Nor a better place
than the next board meeting to see if Winston Brooks
will lay the issues on the table.

If he does, you will then need to stand up to support him.
He will need all of the help he can possibly summon.

If he does not, you will need to stand up to oppose him;
or at least to stand up behind those who do.

This is what Burke was writing about when he wrote;

All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world
is for good men to do nothing.

You pick a side when you don't pick a side.

If we want our children to grow up to embrace character
and courage and honor,
some one of us is going to have to show them what it looks like.

Every generation expects the next generation,
to be the first generation,
to actually hold itself honestly accountable
to a meaningful standard of conduct.

Every generation tells the next,
the story about George Washington and the cherry tree,
no generation ever shows the next, what it looks like
to stand up and say

I will hold myself honestly accountable
to a meaningful standard of conduct.

Instead we take them with us to the auto parts store to buy
radar detectors and photo opaque license plate covers.



The Pillars of Character Counts! is a nationally recognized,
accepted and respected higher standard of conduct.

It is not too high a standard of conduct for
89,000 of our sons and daughters,

and

it is not too high a standard of conduct for
their senior most administrative role model;

... not for 8 measly hours a day.


wiki link Godspeed