Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Pro-Family Organization Endorses Mary Weigand

Dear Mary,
 
Wisconsin Family Action PAC (WFA PAC) is pleased to inform you that we have endorsed your 2018 candidacy for the West Bend School Board.  It is always encouraging to find candidates supportive of marriage, family, life and religious liberty and who are willing to serve in local positions and advocate for these foundational institutions and for fiscal responsibility.
 
As a reminder, WFA PAC reserves the right to endorse in any given race and at our sole discretion, no candidate, multiple candidates, or only one candidate.  In your race, we have endorsed no other candidates.
 
You are welcome to use the WFA PAC logo and endorsement as you see fit. Anywhere you use WFA PAC’s endorsement, please refer to it as Wisconsin Family Action PAC. I’ve attached the logo for your convenience.  Please use it as best helps your campaign.
 
We will be letting our people who live in West Bend know about this endorsement.
 
We wish you a most excellent campaign and look forward to seeing you win in the primary and the general election in April.
 
Congratulations—and warm regards,

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Great kids deserve to read great literature

When our kids were in school they read some great books. What I mean by that is books that brightened their imagination, increased their vocabulary and thus increased their writing ability. Books that built strong character and helped them get a grasp on the entire world and the great things men and women did along with the failings of some.

They read books full of history that included real people without the agenda-driven focus that seems to permeate some currently used curriculum.

We wanted to keep education of truly evil happenings at a minimum in the early grades, especially anything too graphic. We chose to teach this way because we wanted to help our kids be problem solvers and avoid the trappings of dwelling on negative happenings too early in their education.

Some positive aspects of great literature includes:

  • vocabulary building
  • context building
  • cultural understanding
  • positive character qualities such as honesty, hard work, problem solving, redemption, forgiveness, effective communication skills, victory over temptation, justice, courage, wisdom

While reading great literature, or having great literature read to a child, these skills are absorbed by them. Learning becomes not a chore, but an enjoyable act.

Off the top of my head I would like to list some great books our kids read as we felt age appropriate:


  • Adam of the Road
  • The Door in the Wall
  • Myra, Daughter of the Nile
  • The Golden Goblet
  • The Bronze Bow
  • The Chronicles of Narnia Series
  • The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  • Across Five Aprils
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • The Children's Homer
  • Alexander the Great
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel
  • Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
  • A Tale of Two Cities
  • Shakespeare
  • The Bible
  • Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
  • The Hiding Place
  • Peace Child
  • Eric Liddell
  • Sign of the Beaver
  • Witch of Blackbird Pond
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins
  • Tom Sawyer
  • Swiss Family Robinson
  • The Miracle Worker
  • Little Women
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Pilgrims Progress
  • Of Plymouth Plantation
  • Animal Farm
  • George Washington Carver
  • Johnny Tremain
  • Ink on His Fingers
  • Marguerite Makes a Book
  • Beorn the Proud


The richness of books.
I cannot find such richness in the current curriculum in the WBSD. I hope to be a part of bringing it there.  ~Mary



Friday, January 5, 2018

Whose Kids Are They, Anyway?

I've been attending local school board meetings off and on for several years. The recent meetings are what catapulted me to run for and become a member of the West Bend School Board. Frankly, the regular school board meetings are pretty benign; the meat of what is happening occurs in the committee meetings. For instance, recently I attended a committee of the whole meeting (the entire board takes part). A few things stuck out for me and I'll take this opportunity to share them along with my views.

The Administration said a few things that made me take pause and consider.
While discussing the recent “Privilege Test/survey/questionnaire” at Badger Middle School, they talked about wanting to “give teachers autonomy” in the classroom.

Now, the definition of autonomy per Oxforddictionaries.com is explained as: “The right or condition of self-government. It's origin is Early 17th century from Greek autonomia, from autonoms “having its own laws, from autos self+nomos 'law'.


In my opinion it is imprudent to use the term “autonomy” while describing teacher/student interactions in the classroom. As a professional nurse my work falls under constraints, too. I am a nurse and not the doctor. I am not autonomous in my profession and neither should teachers be. Autonomy is for parents and family government.

I prefer the word creativity. The definition from the same website defines creativity as: The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.

Because words have specific meaning, we need to look at the words used by current school district administration because they have an impact on expectations in the classroom. I do not believe teachers should be free to insert curriculum or ideas into the classroom where our kids sit each day. While curriculum is best taught by a teacher who is creative and can engage students, there are parameters set by state statute and local boards. With these parameters in place parents will not have cause to fear what is happening in the classroom, and teachers will have the protection of law and policy while they do their job. We need a board that understands what these words mean, cares about parental rights and responsibilities and is not afraid to hold school staff accountable. We must remember that teachers are not parents and government schools should not take the liberty of being “parents”. That is not why they exist.

Again, I believe autonomy is for family government. Let's leave it at that. Let's use language that correctly defines the role of professional teachers who teach our kids in schools funded by our tax dollars.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Priorities

➨Mary believes that all children deserve an excellent, well-rounded education that includes parental involvement and taxpayer input along with solid representation from a pro-active board member.
➨Mary believes that the school environment should be a place that parents can trust when they drop their children off at school each day.
➨Mary will work to enact smart, research-based WBSD policies - including those for student assignment, curriculum and testing; teaching facts not feelings and ensuring the curriculum is not "dumbed down."
➨Mary has a strong desire to bring everyone to the table to solve issues with smart, reasonable policy.
➨Mary believes that community involvement is critical to the success of the WBSD.
➨Mary will use her previous and current experience as a volunteer in the WBSD to build community support and involvement so all can work together to do what's best for our children.
➨Mary will work hard to ensure the board remains transparent to the community.
➨Mary will use frugal practices and wise decision-making skills while spending taxpayer dollars to fund our public schools.


Why I'm Running

I am running for school board because I wish to invest in the families and the future of our local schoolchildren by representing constituents in the West Bend School District that desire the very best educational opportunities in their community.

Education is a passion of mine. My husband and I homeschooled our children during part of their education and were very involved while they attended the West Bend Public Schools. 

On a personal note, I am also a lifelong learner, finishing my nursing degree just 3 years ago.

I have been attending school board meetings regularly and have twice been on the Human Growth and Development Committee. I currently sit on the CFAC committee for the school district.

I believe schools are about teaching. Teaching should be given the highest regard in a commitment to excellence. It is my hope to make in impact in curriculum selection in a way that takes the values of the community into consideration. 

It is important to understand that education is selective and not comprehensive; there is not time enough to teach everything that could be taught. Recent policy changes have made the Board more relevant in decisions about curriculum. I would love to dive into this issue and make positive changes for the families and kids we serve.

My values are conservative and I believe they reflect the values of the community. 

Biography

Mary Weigand has lived in the West Bend School District since she attended McLane Elementary School in 4th grade. She is also a graduate of Badger Middle School and West Bend East High School.

She and her husband Dave have been married 34 years and have 4 children who all attended the West Bend Public Schools either full or part-time. They have been a host family to a number of foreign exchange students.

Weigand is a Registered Nurse, working on a telemetry med/surg floor in nearby Mequon.

Weigand is passionate about education and is herself a lifelong learner, having completed her nursing degree just 3 years ago. She also currently sits on the Citizen Facilities Advisory Committee and has twice been part of the Human Growth and Development Committee. Her husband is a former school board member, serving from 2010-2013.

Weigand is a true CONSERVATIVE and looks forward to serving the constituents of the West Bend School District and fighting for the values we hold dear.