I Could Not Teach in Buna Anymore.........

 I have spent the weekend see how hard it is to bring a cat to the UK. It would take about 3 months to bring Fred over in preparation. Might be easier to have someone take care of him. 

And in typical Fred, he got on the bookshelf and jumped off on my shoulder like he was BatCat. Good thing I was there to catch him, him all purring like this is fun...Which bookshelf? The one on the hallway. Teachers, especially history/English majors have books everyplace. We have 5 bookshelves scattered in the Compound. 

Then, I did research as to how hard it would be to get a PhD in Classics. The cost of tuition alone was prohibitive.  And then, would I want anyone to call me " doctor?" I don't even like it when people address me as "Reverend" or " Brother./"  Old school Church of England vicars were often just called "Mister" so and so.....Plus, I don't want to leave any debt....I've been watching too much John Batchelor and his Londonium programs. 

And then, I am trying to decide if I want a pair of Beckett-Simonon shoes. Their short-wing, wingtips. I really need a pair of black, but the Bordeaux( fancy name for oxblood) is temping. 

But, as always, I digress. 

No, I am here this morning to talk about the proposed changes to 11th grade, AKA Junior level  US History or American History TEKS. I will flip flop calling it that in this blog.....

TEKS are the subject areas that teachers are supposed to cover over the school year. Trouble is, the way they are written when I speak the first week, in US History, any decent teacher covers about 50% of the TEKS, and it is that way, all year long.  

And many of you are going " But, Mr. T, I thought you were a government/economics teacher." Well, not always. I taught American History exclusively for a while. A short while and to be honest, teaching American History is easy.  Economics instruction, on the other hand, is hard. 

The Texas State Board of Education  is revamping the TEKS K-12 in Social Studies. 

I know there is a big controversy concerning the Bible story inclusion in the elementary and junior high level, and I was never one to avoid discussions on religion in class, but I wonder how some teachers will draw the line and concerning personal religious beliefs, well, they are all over the place in classrooms. The teacher might be Cumberland Presbyterian and in their classroom, they may have a 6 Baptists,  a Lutheran, 3 Methodists,  2 Pentecostals/A of G, a Buddhist, 2 Muslims, a Hindu, and 7 who believe nothing. 

In the Houston, Austin, Dallas regions, class religious make-ups look nothing like what they might in Buna Schools. 

Then, there is the change that local newspapers in Dallas are stirring up a stink about. 

Here is one of their headlines....." The board approved changes Wednesday that eliminate coverage of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, substituting study of Oprah Winfrey in the revised social studies TEKS. (They dropped the TEKS on the American Revolution.)

Do the kids today even know who Oprah is, and do they actually need to do so?  

I don't know the answer on that one, do they need to know Jack Benny, or Lucille Ball? You can go down a rabbit hole on that one...I covered stuff like the British Invasion of Rock in the 1960s. 

11th grade US History is from 1877 to present. The US History class in 8th grade is the Colonial Period to 1876. The American Revolution was in 1776. (The Revolutionary War has since been reinserted)

The Revolutionary War, or as the British call it the American War for Independence..... Should have been covered already.   

I fudged and always started my American History class with George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. June, 1876. Got to throw a hook out there, and that always worked for 11th graders. 

I know they are removing TEKS like McCarthyism, and any history teacher worth their salt is covering the Junior Senator from Wisconsin, Eugene McCarthy.  

I know they have included things like " No fault divorce" in the lessons, and to be honest, I can see an 11th grader asking their mother when they got home, asking Mom about divorcing Dad 10 years ago.....Happens more than you think.  

And I get a phone call from Mom.... 

As many of you know, I jumped from one manure pile to another when I was teaching at Buna, even when I wasn't being Kerry Thomas, I still got into trouble.   I can just about imagine the new trouble I would get into. 

In 2026 I could no longer teach in Buna, probably no place else either. 

I can see the trouble I would be in talking about Jack Reed and his " Ten Days Which Shook the World." ( If you know your history of Politics, here is a shocker, when I first signed on with Buna, they had 2 copies of " Ten Days" in the BHS Library....  )

It is part of the reason I never issued books. Other than use them for supplemental material, I hated every book ever approved by the State of Texas for social studies. 

  Then again, there is so much micromanagement going on right now at the Buna Schools, I would be looking for an exit....Looking hard......

 

 

 

 

And Here We Go Again Buna.......And I Need a Favor.....

 I just looked over at Fred asleep in his  chair. He generally sleeps when I write.....Fred is huge for a cat. I swear he must weigh about 25lbs. And all he wants to eat is 9lives Morris' Catch kibble. He won't touch real food, except for cheese. and dairy really isn't good for grown cats. I hope one morning he doesn't decide to do us in......

No, I need to do this from time to time......

Sorry....

A number of people are reading the blog through the Govteach Part Deaux Group on Facebook. I welcome you. 

The blog while often talks about Buna Schools, sometimes Jasper County, sometimes, whatever I think about this morning will be on the blog. 

I ran into a group reader at of all places Family Dollar in Mauriceville. I never go in there. But I did looking for something, they of course didn't have it. 

The reader was someone I did not know, introduced themselves as being related to someone I nominally know. 

I could not get away from them. I spent 1 hour and 10 minutes with them bending my ear, talking about Buna ISD, how it is run, and switched to politics in general. 

I appreciate you stopping and talking to me, and if you have a story I need to look at and well, I am working on one right now. 

And I am going to be somewhat selfish here. 

Please, I want to meet you, I really do, but I am generally a very private person. I only put 1973 miles on my Honda Element( I kept it long enough now that it has a " Cult" following....)  this past year. I would be a candidate for a monastery. ( Unless suggests we fly to Europe.....I really want to go back to Hong Kong.) 

And I do want to know my readers.  

That said, please, let me escape. 

I don't mind talking a little while, but I have a hard time standing up now, plus, sometimes, I actually have things to do. Not just figure out what cap/hat you need next? I saw Jack White in a derby and got to thinking, " Where could I pull-off a derby? " City of London? Or answering the question put forth in the latest GQ, " What color shoes should you wear with a grey suit?" The answer, from what I would wearing? "Oxblood. " 

I digress......

Newbies, the blog from time to time will be whatever I want it to be. It may be a rambling mess like this one. It might be on British politics. It might be a poem. I used to publish them years ago in the blog. 

Beware......I often use bad words, the next blog I might be praying, I may talk about my drinking Scotch. It might be about gummies.  

I am different. Always have been. 

As always, if you have a story concerning the school, county, whoever, let know know and there is a good chance I will write on it. And as always, everything is confidential.  

I take my blogs on the school district pretty darn seriously. You see, I was the gov/eco teacher at Buna and taught many of my readers. I want Buna to be good if not great. It can be. I saw it first hand. Why not again?

 

 

 

So, I Thought Buna ISD Had Blocked Me Online.....And....We Receive Mail!

 In 2026, I seriously do not know what to expect. I really do not know. 

This morning, I decided to look and see  what openings there were still at Buna ISD....I go to the site, and I am blocked.....

I thought, Kerry, you have done it, a government entity, has blocked you, somehow. and if there is something I want you to learn in this blog, school districts are government entities. To really understand what a school really is, you must first remember it is a taxing, government institution, with elected officials and everything. So many people see a school as Miss Evelyn McPike teaching kindergarten. ( She was my kindergarten teacher 64 years ago now.)  

It is more than that. Just pay attention and ask, why in the world does the ISD need to buy that?  

And then I thought, how? 

And I look, apparently, I was running my new VPN through Belgium and somehow you can't get government agencies through Belgium. Including the National Weather Service. 

So, I switch to the UK, and problem solved.  

I do this to check opening at Buna ISD and well, there are several, especially, it seems they are short coaches.  Do young men and women in this day and age not want to be coaches? 

I guess Buna is hoping for an Oxford or Cambridge grad to up and decide to teach English or History at Buna......Might get lucky to get a grad of the University of the Highlands.....And then, the kids would not have a clue what the teacher is saying.  We've been over there several times and it takes a few days to tune our ears to the Scottish accent......In the UK, England especially, there is a different accent every 15-25 miles. A teacher coming in from Manchester, the kids may never understand what they are saying. I can't understand Manchester's accent. And the thing is, in the UK, if you leave your area/town, you may have a hard time understanding what people are saying 50 miles from your home. 

But I digress. 

-Mail

I received 2 messages from people talking about Buna, and how they can't get people to come teach, too far away, do not pay enough, etc.......Trouble is, if you treat you teachers well enough, even far away, even poor pay, you are going find people who want to teach in Buna.....One of the contributing factors was the lack of fights at school. When I taught in Dayton, I broke up at least a fight a week. And breaking up fights, especially girl fights can be a bit spooky. If girls are fighting over some sorry-ass boy,  they are literally trying to kill one another. I never saw a stabbing. I saw 2 at Magnolia and 1 at Dayton. 

Buna kids are well behaved generally, and I was heavy handed at times with y'all, and it took a bit for me to let off the pedal. 

I also received a message from a person who was what I would deem, as my late hardcore Presbyterian grandfather would say,  " Just talking." 

Wanted me to establish residence in Buna to at some point run for school board. Had land I could set up a trailer rent free on. .....Nope, not going to happen. 

Again, I am not a politician. "If nominated, I shall not run, if elected I shall not serve." 

Besides, do you understand what kind of antagonist I would be if I was elected? I don't even want to think about it.  

And- I received a message this morning that shall receive its own blog...... 

 

 

Again, With the Buna Politics......Typical Buna Schools......

It was 44C in Western France yesterday. That is 111F in, how you say, American temps......May as well be in Doha, Qatar or Saudi Arabia. 

I read, and I have been planning to write on this for a while, but just could not put it together. 

Writing this blog, well, is sometimes very hard. You need to try and not go totally mashuga when posting some of these. 

No, I noticed on FB yesterday a former Buna teacher who, for whatever reason was let go, and part of it is supposedly was they had not gotten all of their certifications, was replaced by a person, with no certification in the field. 

And the thing is, the teacher who was let go seems to have been doing a good job.... 

When I read things like this, I remember the movie Platoon in which Francis says, " It's politics man, it's politics....."  

Ain't it always.  

Their certification, the new instructor, my understanding, is in PE...... 

And I am going to say the "quiet part out loud."

I had a longtime administrator tell me this when it was only them and I, " Coaches' priority is not the classroom."

And they were right. It coach gets fired, it will be for not producing, generally in this state, on the football field. 

So, they have bigger concerns than the classroom. 

And I do not know when Buna has really has never been concerned about being all certified and passing tests. I know a person Buna kept hired years ago when they could not pass the old TECAT. ( Texas Exam of Current Administrators and Teachers) Which was the original Texas teachers exam. ( They are no longer with us, so that's as far as I care to go.) ( Also, need to tell the story of my taking the old TECAT at Kellar High School one day, back when I was in divinity school.) 

And how many non-certified teachers do they have now? 

Heck, when I showed up and had a certification to teach both government and economics, Buna acted like " Blind Hawg Found an Acorn."

And I am glad I am not teaching today.  They are posting bios of new teachers, especially of the high school faculty....The exact type of bio you would see on a church staff webpage. 

When I was first hired, well, there was stuff  I did not want my seniors to know....Like I grew up and graduated from Vidor. It was years before I let people know I went to school there. Now, Vidor is a little better, a little......Hell, I didn't want you to know much about me. I knew what was coming in the classroom from my end, and I didn't want as the Romans would say, "Nima familiaritas parit contemptum."

I don't know.....Just another day in Buna ISD politics........Remember if you want change, run for board, and those of you not running, be sure and vote change this Fall. 

 

Meanwhile.....In Other News.....As Many of You Know, There Are Other Interests

 I know in this country, we are looking at the Middle East mess better known as the Iran War....

What is Israel going to do?

Are we actually going to end this quagmire? 

I know Iran, the U.S., Pakistan, Qatar are meeting as I write this blog, in Switzerland in an attempt to end the war......The trouble is as I have posted in a question about what is the country not in the meeting?

 I have an opinion about the war, but as I have been eluding to I am trying to keep most of my opinion off this blog......

But, this is today's blog.... 

- There was a special election held in a constituency in Manchester, England. The seat was won by the former mayor of Manchester and he Andy Burnham, the winner is expected to challenge the now sitting Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer for the job of leader of the Labour Party, which would make Burnham Prime Minister. 

Stramer has been Prime Minister for barely under two years and the British are already ready for a new leader in that nation. 

Rumors are that Starmer is to resign on Monday. Other rumors are Starmer will " Fight on." 

Burnam has a MA in English from Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge and has been a long serving mayor of  of Manchester, and all of his goals are economic as the economy in the UK right now is much worse that the US.... Burnham has vowed to reshape Britain's financial architecture by giving communities direct control ​over the things that shape daily life: housing, utilities, transport and education.

He is going to need to do more than that.... 

We shall see. 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical Buna ISD.......

 I debated writing on this, more and more I am looking at the large amount of info I receive from people within the Buna ISD and say to myself...." Self, do I really want to go here> And often, the squeeze is not worth the juice we all will receive in the end. 

So, it seems they had a group of teachers in some sort of fictional committee to try and help chose their new building. administrators.....

I call it " fictional ' because leadership will pick who they really want, not who the teachers want to work with, and in many cases, they get up with committee members who don't pick the one who has been selected anyway....Or if you wind up with the one you want and well, there will always be " hard feelings" or they will simply not pick you for the next committee....( And not being picked for an committee I discovered is a blessing in disguise.)   

Years ago I remember being on a committee to pick a building administrator.....And was the biggest mess ever. Couldn't even ask our own questions,. I personally received a question that well, was the same question asked earlier by another committee member. Just worded differently. 

And in the end, leadership picked who they wanted. 

And they took me out of class to do this. Seriously, I had much rather be in the classroom with the kids than do this mess. No fooling, I had rather actually be in a classroom than any teacher in-service snorefest.  

Just typical.  

Reminder to Teachers.....Buna People Who Are Interested.....Talk to Your Kids

 A brief blog this Tuesday-

- If you are thinking about leaving your teacher position teachers, you have about another week before you need to make a decision to find another job, or job get out of the education business . A district can pull your certificate for a year if they want. 

I know administrators and head coaches are given "grace" unlike regular teachers.....And that is for another  day, another blog.....

You do not " owe" the school district anything. I have seen them throw good teachers under the bus and let them go  just because they needed someone else take the job....Or they let the educator go because of financial reasons, never mind soon after they were sacked( as the British would say) a new person was put in the exact same position.....I've even seen the new employee not even have a certificate for the position for which they were hired. 

Side note : I understand the reasoning behind you giving a 2 week notice when you leave a job. It is where a business can find a replacement. Trouble is, if you are let go, most businesses don't give you notice, most of the time, they let you go and in many cases, security escorts you from the building. Security watching to make sure you don't steal a pencil. 

Reminder, it is a job. I will repeat this again and again. Yes, you love the kids, yes, you love the job( or not) but in the end, it is how you pay the light bill. 

- I know I said I will not help with you running for Buna School Board, but now is when you need to get the ball rolling. 

Again, don't wait until the last minute to make a decision. 

Get your name out there....Start shaking hands, kissing babies, going to BBQ link fund raisers, especially at the church level.   

Go to a board meeting now. Sit in the back. Take notes, know what the actual seat entails.  What you need to have to be able to run. 

You must be at least 18 years old to hold office. 

Lived in Texas consecutively for 12 months.

Lived within the district  consecutively for 6 months. 

Cannot be a felon. 

First date to file for Nov. 3rd election- Sat. July 18, 2026

Last date to file for Nov 3rd election-  Mon. August 17, 2026

As always, double check these rules,other rules, and dates make sure I have not made a mistake. This is just a thumbnail sketch. 

- In light of the gambling situation concerning the former Texas Tech, well, potential player.....Talk to your kids about legal matters. 

Be it gambling. The Tech and previously Indiana and Cincinnati player was betting illegally underage. Also sending money out of state so others could place bets for him. If wanted, the way I read it, the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney could file felonies.  

Treat boys and girls sexually with respect. They are not your personal play things. It is why I so believe that sex should be with someone you love, and I personally go a set further. But I am not going to hold you to my personal morals concerning intimacy. Just because you think you are someone doesn't mean you can treat people "however."

Talk to them about driving drunk. Talk to them about narcotic usage. Talk to them about making one misstep might ruin their lives.  

It seems there are more and more parents who just think " everything will be okay." " My kid is a good kid." 

Yeah, I know a former President of the Youth for Christ at Dayton High School doing " Them all" for murder while doing a robbery. Shot a woman in the head, twice so there would not be any witnesses. 12th grader. He has a parole hearing in 2036. First sent to Huntsville in 1992. He is never getting out. 

I drove him to an academic contest at the University of Houston. Just he and I. And I never expected anything like murder from him. He had already started breaking into houses about 6 months before we went to Houston. 

- Stay dry folks. Going to be wet this week, but, we live in SETX. This is expected.