“Out with Karens…” — School board sign in our neighborhood.

In January I started volunteering at our school. Monday is my day off, so I go in with the kids at 8:30 and stay till the class has lunch at 11:30. I am not in one of their classes — my goal is to help teachers. The pandemic certainly created stress, but it is rising negativity that is breaking educators. Demands for transparency. Rants about CRT. Yet in all my hours of volunteering, I have not witnessed reasons for the concern. All the hot button issues — the divisions that amp up media — aren’t in the classroom.

Instead I have found teachers helping kids – loving kids. Teaching math facts, along with self-control, and reminding each child that they are valuable. These teachers are amazing.

But these teachers hear the shouting. They witness the school board arguments. They see the facebook posts. They feel the words in their hearts. You can see the effect in our teachers – our teachers are hurting. And I can not imagine why so many people feel this anger…

Then I heard this morning’s NPR poll. The poll reveals all the tirades are coming from the fringe. Most parents believe their teachers (88%) are doing the best job. And most parents are not overly concerned about the hot button topics. They just want their own child to study and make friends and…

So why is the negativity so loud? Ralph Wilson advises we “follow the money,” he continues, “It’s definitely an incredibly small minority that’s being amplified with this large, well-funded infrastructure to appear larger and to appear to have more well-founded concerns than they do.”

A handful of angry people, with a lot of political money, are hammering down and breaking our educators. Throwing tantrums over things that often aren’t present in the classroom (and we wonder why our children are so whiney?).

Kearney is an amazing school district. From the NPR poll, 82% feel their school district is doing the “best” it can. Friends, do not let political machines… or insane fringe… destroy what is good. Let’s work together to support our districts, our teachers and administrators. This next week is Teacher Appreciation. Take a moment to send kindness (even if you do not have a child in school). Our schools need your encouragement!

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What is happening in school politics is happening everywhere. Big money and the extreme fringe strive to create fear. Yet Jesus calls us to stop worrying. This Sunday we look at Matthew 6:28-31 and Colossians 1:15-20. I hope you will join us in person or streaming live at 10:30.