‘I want our district to lead’

To the editor:

My name is David Cheezem, and I am running to retain my seat on the Matanuska Susitna Borough School Board, Seat G. Powerful forces — from our president to our governor, all the way down the system — are conspiring to drive inspiration out of our classrooms. All the same, heroic teachers, facing incredible odds, are working to inspire our children to learn. Chemistry teachers teach the periodic table of elements — but also communicate what it is about chemistry that made them fall in love with the subject; same with math and science, English and art.

The national “school reform” movement has stripped away much of the sense of agency, of local control, from our schools. We are told to resist homegrown, creative solutions, because they don’t have research-based “data” to support them. In other words, we are locked into reliance on companies with large marketing budgets rather than our own creative ideas.

I want our district to lead. I want to draw on the good ideas that are out there, but I also want to respect the innovative spirit of our own teachers and staff.

We must look for the nooks and crannies of inspiration hiding in our bubble-test obsessed system, and try to find the places where authentic learning can happen.

That’s the perspective that I bring to the board. I am a businessman — co-owner and manager of a bookstore, these last 11 years. I have been active in many boards including the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission and the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce, and the Palmer Economic Development Agency.

I bring a thoughtful, open-minded voice to the table. I would appreciate your vote Oct. 1.

David Cheezem

Palmer