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[jay-ell]

Yeah, I'll have 2 minutes to speak. I'll post my prepared remarks when they're ready; so far, they have almost nothing to do with the stuff I wrote earlier. That was mainly for the benefit of people I know on Facebook who are outside the county and don't already know how it works.

I hear what you're saying, Wombles. I just get so pissed about this stuff, I can't shut my mouth about it. I am trying very hard to take it out on the bad guys in my video game, I should be calmer in the morning.

[pmcd9]

I don't know how well this works in this context, but it's fuck*ng brilliant. A can.

Yeah, that's totally a cannin'.

[CortJstr]

I haven't been following this really but I do know that it's a big enough deal that it made the front page of the Washington Post last week. When school redistricting 2 states away makes the front page of the Washington fuck*ng Post you know shit is getting real and it isn't just town-council bullshit.

[greenkoolayd]

people being a part of their local political situations is hell of refreshing.  even though the best thing doesnt always happen, i like that you can go up to your local movers and shakers and say, "fuck your ideas, this is what i want!"

[jay-ell]

So, a little late, but I gave my remarks tonight in spite of a series of horrible events that conspired to almost keep me from going. (It involved my daughter cutting her own hair and her brother's, an emergency trip to the haircut place, and a borrowed car for which we only have one key.) But, I'm glad I went, because (if I may have a moment absent of humility), I hit the delivery out of the park and got a standing ovation. They had to delay the next speaker because of all the applause and cheering. Two people stopped me on my way back to my seat to shake my hand; one gave me a business card for a group that is organizing protests in the area. This might turn into a Thing.

Here's what I said. Remember that I only had 2 minutes to speak.

Wake County has one of the greatest school systems in America. We’ve developed a system that is not just diverse, but consistent and effective. We have received accolades in the national media for years, and we have been held up as an example for other school systems to follow. But now, by ending our diversity policy, we are being held up in the national media as an object of ridicule and disgust. And rightly so, because the consistency and effectiveness of our schools hinges on its economic diversity.

Good teachers produce results, and good teachers prefer well-funded schools with college-bound students. Wake County attracts qualified, veteran teaches like my dad, who teaches AP Government in the morning and Civics in the afternoon. Whether his students live in spacious mansions or cramped apartments, they all benefit equally from his experience and dedication.

Wake County students are remarkably diverse, which makes it all the more amazing that our schools are remarkably consistent: they all provide access to qualified teachers, safe playground equipment, field trips, computers, and technology.
My Kindergartener is autistic and has been enrolled in Wake preschool services since he was three. So far, he’s attended three different schools. I’m confident that no matter which school he goes to, he’ll get the support he needs, and that peace of mind is priceless. But ending the diversity policy will end parents’ confidence in our schools – and parent confidence is essential to parent choice.

It’s been said that the diversity policies “dilute the problem” of the poor and make it “easier to ignore,” but that simply isn’t true. It’s easy to ignore an impoverished student at a school you’ve never even driven past. But when you discover that a child you know doesn’t have any books to read at home, it forces us to notice. It forces us to act.

Wake County has been named repeatedly on lists of the best places to live for a decade or more. We live in the greatest county in the greatest nation on earth, and our excellent, effective, and consistent school system is a huge component of our success. So please, reinstate the diversity policy and maintain the universal quality of our schools.

[jay-ell]

Update: The lady who handed me a business card and asked me to contact her is married to my former master's thesis advisor! What a small world! She wants me to get involved with the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, which is currently working towards getting candidates who value diversity into this year's race. I might be able to get a start writing for local politics...basically a dream of mine...but do I have the time to devote to this right now?

Blurgh, I hate when good opportunities arrive at bad times. I have a problem with saying "no."

[wombat]

Hooray for you, well done under very tight limits. However I am kind of distracted by also wanting to give your daughter a standing ovation for getting her brother to sit still for a haircut. Remember, you should never perform with kids or animals, they always steal the spotlight.

[miles]

It’s been said that the diversity policies “dilute the problem” of the poor and make it “easier to ignore,”

Yeah, I can see that. Ghettos benefit the poor by concentrating the problem, thereby making it easier to target.

[jay-ell]

Hooray for you, well done under very tight limits. However I am kind of distracted by also wanting to give your daughter a standing ovation for getting her brother to sit still for a haircut. Remember, you should never perform with kids or animals, they always steal the spotlight.

It was a single, well-placed snip right up front. His screams of protest are what alerted me to the situation.

Her own hair did not fare so well. She came home with a comb-over. She'll have bangs again in a couple of months; his hair will take a year to reach pre-haircut levels, but at least it looks like normal boy-hair. (It was pretty long and shaggy; we'd decided to let him be a dirty little hippie and it was approaching critical levels of adorable-moppet-headiness.) All in all, it could have been worse.

I am really pleased with myself for doing this. I almost gave up and didn't go at all, and when I got there and saw probably 150 people in the audience, I almost bailed again. But when I finished, the overwhelming proportion of people there were applauding -- including many who had come to fight for "don't change my kid's particular school."

Pedro helped me a lot with winnowing this down from three pages and focusing on the points that were most likely to win over an audience of conservatives -- hence the flag-waving at the open and close. And of course, years of watching him excel at public speaking has taught me a lot. All in all, it was kind of a rush -- I was shaking like a leaf the whole time, but I could almost feel the soap box beneath my feet. When I turned to take my seat and saw people standing and cheering, I thought, "You hit that one out of the park."

Adrenaline, wow.

[Nabubrush]

Rocking.

You rock.

[jay-ell]

I was on the news. It's just a few seconds, but they led with my closing statement.

http://www2.nbc17.com/video/

[Choop]

oh man that last chick in the video. was her entire speech that vapid and shallow?

[Lister]

"I weep," said the one, finally, "because I have only one can to give, and this deserves far better."

"What you have given," said the other, "is all you are able, and what more can be asked of you?"

[wombat]

JL FOR PRESIDENT
It's the start of a movement.

[AugustWest]

JL FOR PRESIDENT
It's the start of a movement.

Wouldn't we need 50 people a day to sing it to the shrink in the New York City Draft Office for that?