Dear Brothers and Sisters for Life, Purity and Healing,
Every good endowment and
every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with
whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change.
(James 1:17,
RSV, Courtesy of Harmony Media)
Hearing
Details:
I wanted to thank everyone who came to the
hearing on Thursday, November 14, 2013. I wish I could say it better but thank
you so much. There were probably 150 people. They configured the room with
some very big chairs and extra tables. The room had a capacity of over 90, but
they only let 47 people into the room.
I wanted to thank my son and
daughter who were so helpful. My son called every day last week and many times,
"Dad how can I help you?" My daughter made up the nice big posters that were in
the hearing room.
I suspect there will be more hearings both with the
district and in the courts. I do encourage all to keep praying and please bring
cameras, video cameras and recorders if the event is public. It would be nice
to have a recording or pictures from last Thursday. The district did make a
recording and hopefully we will get a copy. Most meetings and hearings at
public schools are public and thus can be recorded.
The district placed a
policeman at the door and then the head lawyer from the district stood by the
door to prevent more people from coming in the room or from standing by the
room. She was joined by another school attorney who spoke against me and yet
another school attorney who sat by the hearing officer.
The district also
blocked the elevators so that more people could not stand by the room. All of
the people then went back to main floor and prayed. I think the magnitude of
people praying at the headquarters from the district was yet again God outdoing
the devil. I thought of the following incidents through history.
| Devil's
Act |
God's
Act |
| Adam
and Eve fall to sin. |
The
world is sent a savior. |
| Joseph
thrown in well. |
Joseph
saves his brothers. |
| Woman
caught up with sin. |
A
pharisee gets a lesson in true love. |
If any of
you who were stopped by the head lawyer, Jollee Patterson, you may want to email
her at
jpatters@pps.net. It would be interesting to hear her response
on why they picked that room and why it was configured so that so few people
were allowed in the room.
I want to thank all who were praying around the
world. It was very hard to sit through the statements by Stephanie Harper, an
attorney for the district, and then the statements by Frank Scotto, regional
director, Carol Campbell, the past principal of Benson, and Jeandre Carbone and
Barry Phillips vice principals of Benson. District contact information is found
at on the front page of the website
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/ and clicking on
Directory on the top left
by News | Directory.
The
Oregonian repeated some of
Mr. Scotto's remarks that when he observed me he found that I was militaristic.
His observation notes certainly did not indicate this. He mentioned how I
thanked students for their work and his only negative comment was when I
exclaimed, "Listen Up."
A vice principal from Benson also came and
testified against me for some warnings I gave to a student in 2009. When this
same administrator found himself unassigned in 2011, I wrote a letter of
recommendation for him. Such is life. I have heard that many who were chanting
"Hosanna in the Highest" when Jesus came to Jerusalem were also there a few days
later to chant, "Crucify him!"
Special thanks to Mr. Davis a fellow
teacher and Ms. Koenig the union representative who testified on my behalf. Ms.
McKanna, the lawyer hired by the district, also did a fine job. She questioned
many of the district actions especially all of the times that they have stopped
me from working with children on basic math facts. She questioned me on the
effectiveness of time tables and I read the following from a student.
In fact when I started I didn't know much but
with the extra help you provided me I can now say my multiplication tables as
fast as my name and much more. For once I'm proud of
myself.
The crowd clapped and was reprimanded from Sascha
Perrins. He works for the district and was the hearing officer.
The next
step is for Sascha Perrins to make a decision. Next week I will also be working
on the grievances that we filed.
I did make a closing
statement and that is at the end of the
email.
Again and again thank you all for your prayers and for all who
came last week. There were many friends, students, parents and many I did not
know.
Please continue to pray and especially for those working in the
school district. There is an old saying, "When you go to bed with the dogs, you
wake up with the fleas." When one goes to bed with Planned Parenthood, as the
schools in Portland and Salem have done, I do not know what you wake up
with.
Donations
I
wanted to thank all at Christ the King Church in the Clackamas area for their
nice donation to help our outreach. I think many of you know that Therese and
others give out baby supplies, funds and information to many people going into
Planned Parenthood. We have tried to put on the heart of Christ and now mothers
are holding babies near their hearts and not uncontrollable anguish.
Our
Hispanic ministry is doing very well and we have spoken at six churches in the
area. We could sure use a laptop so that our group can display videos. Maybe
someone out there is thinking of buying a new laptop and now you have a good
place to donate your old laptop. I also got a request from one of our helpers
who was recently in a car wreck. Does anyone have an older car they would like
to donate or a contact for us?
Closing Remarks at
the Hearing:
I
wanted to thank you all for being here this evening. I looked at the thousands
of students at Benson as my own children.
I
loved them, I prayed for them, I laughed with them, I cried with them, I sang
with them, I danced with them, I cheered with them, I
cheered for them and yes I pushed them to levels that they thought they were
insurmountable and uncomfortable.
I had
some motivational signs in the classroom and one stated:
Did
you bring your A game today?
Some
had their A game every day and some struggled every day.
In
2007 a proud young man wrote me:
I'm
not to sure if you'll remember me but I was in you algebra class your first year
at Benson and well I'm finally going to continue my education with Math being
the foundation of my career in Finance and economics at UCLA.
You
may know all ready but You are without a doubt the best teacher Many have come
across. I sit and review my notes which always state your quote "write out the
original problem" which I often laugh at thinking back to your
class.
The
reason I'm writing you is because I wanted to say thank you for leaving
"call-la-rada" (your home state) to in the end teach many like myself. I have
more fun with math than ever and that I will always remember you as my favorite
teacher and your class. Thank you Mr. Diss
In
2003 that young man had trouble finding his A game, but we worked
together.
Four
years later he found his A Game.
That
folks is what it is all about!
Again
thank you and God Bless all of
you.
.
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