A Reader Writes... Exactly How Many Guns Do We Need - Part 2

In response to the 6/24/2015 post, “Exactly How Many Guns Do We Need,” a LYS reader writes:

SC,

I totally support your viewpoint. I would like to add that this topic has become politicized. I feel it needs to be discussed as a topic outside of the liberal or conservative lens. The longer it is viewed as a topic that is attached to unrelated political agendas, the less likely we are able to discuss it openly and in a posture to listen.

SC Response

Thank you. And I agree. Unfettered gun ownership and access is not a black / white issue. It is nuanced.  And should be treated as such.

And I repeat, the vote is the most important right that we possess.  And there are restrictions and parameters that are placed on that right.

Free speech, is arguable the second most important right that we possess. And there are restrictions and parameters that are placed on that right.

Shouldn’t the right to bear arms, which is the right most likely to infringe on another citizens most valued possession... Life, be subject to reasonable restrictions and parameters?

And once again, I ask this question as a life long gun owner and hunter. 

      

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

A Reader Writes... Exactly How Many Guns Do We Need - Part 1

In response to the 6/24/2015 post, “Exactly How Many Guns Do We Need,” a LYS reader writes:

SC,

I do not believe that everyone being armed with guns is going to stop every racist or terrorist from committing crimes, however if someone else in the proximity to a crime or terrorist act were armed it could prevent the loss of additional lives.  This being said I don’t believe that it would be a good practice for every citizen to walk around on the streets armed with a handgun.

I am also not certain that I agree with your statement that the right to vote is necessarily more important than the right to bear arms, as well as the statement that, “it is more difficult to vote than it is to purchase a gun.” 

I believe that the right to vote and the right to bear arms are both important and that anyone voting should be required to present documentation that they are a citizen of the United States; whatever that documentation may be.  Many of our politicians object that people should not have to present documentation to vote, yet they want to require this same documentation or more to purchase a firearms.   At this time it is not more difficult to vote than to purchase a gun.  There is an ongoing fight to require more and more documentation to purchase a gun and less and less to be able to vote.

I believe that those people who would advocate stricter and stricter gun control usually have their own hidden agenda which many times has nothing to do with crime in the streets.  The restriction of gun sales is not going to prevent criminals, terrorists, etc. from finding and purchasing guns as well as using them to commit crimes.  Restrictions on gun sales would only make it harder for law abiding citizens to purchase guns.  To think that you will always have law enforcement around when you are in need is naïve.  There are many instances when you or your family may be in need of protection and you have to rely on yourself to defend them.  In a perfect world this would not be the case, however we do not yet live in a perfect world.

I believe that the attack on our “right to bear arms” is just one more attack on our freedoms in this country.  Unfortunately, in recent days I have seen an increase in attacks on our personal liberties in this country in all areas.  I believe that each time we give up an individual right to the government it becomes easier and easier for them to take additional freedoms.  I believe that government should rule in its least restrictive form.  Our government has continued to grow and grow, and as it has done so it has taken away many of the rights that individuals used to enjoy.  In some cases we see these laws as benefitting the common good, but in other cases we see them as unnecessary intrusions into our daily lives.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Our Biggest Fan

LYS Nation, last week we lost our biggest fan.  After beating cancer six years ago, walking through a heart attack 2½ years ago, and battling two different types of cancer for the past two years, age and illness finally caught up with my father-in-law, Gerald Burnett.  A former professional baseball player, retired engineer and business owner, and scratch golfer, Gerald was also the LYS Nation’s biggest fan.  He sat in our sessions at multiple conferences, read the blog, and followed the ongoing and growing success of the LYS Campuses. Always asking how the schools were doing and who had been recently promoted.  And he was the only person in the country that was not surprised by the success of the book, The Fundamental 5.   

Here is the life lesson of Gerald Burnett:

Gerald had the unique gift of loving imperfect people as if they were perfect.  For those unaware or oblivious, they would bask in this love as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  For those aware and reflective this love was the lever that pushed you to try to live up to this wonderful gift.

He was a man who loved life and loved forward movement. Those around him were always richer due to his presence. His legacy was three successful children, and three successful grand children (a 100% batting average), and 100’s of successful mentee’s.

He is missed by many. I miss him.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of June 28, 2015

A number of you in the LYS Nation are now Twitter users.  If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us.  To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of June 28, 2015.

1. "Texas public schools are fully funded." A lie is still a lie no matter how many times it's presented and repeated as the truth. (By @pastor4txkids)

2. Why insist schools are adequately funded when our courts, superintendents, principals and teachers know they are not? (By @pastor4txkids)

3. Don't use data to sort students but to sort instructional practices that work or don't work! (By @yankee_todd)

4. Use common assessment data to sort instructional strategies, not to sort kids. (By @englishtchr1977)

5. One of the great ironies of organization leadership is that we take our best people and ask them to work significantly harder than the others. (By  @JasonJj7)

6. Two things that add chaos to the classroom: clutter and attitude. (By @vbstuart)

7. Educators, your purpose is to develop talent not select talent. (By @SteveRamirez)

8. “Education is truly the only silver bullet to improve our nation's standing worldwide.” (By @DrRichAllen)

9. If you want to be an instructional leader, make sure you're spending time where the instruction is happening. (By @eduleadership)

10. Telling people to dial back their strengths is filling their pockets with rocks. (By @Leadershipfreak)

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations), Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association Fall AP Conference 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

State of the Blog - The Last 100 Posts (1,800 and Counting)

Hello, LYS Nation.  This is the 1,800^th post to the column, so as is our tradition, we will review our progress. 

First, the review

The 1^st post was on Monday, February 16, 2009.

The 100^th post was on April 14, 2009.

The 200^th post was on June 10, 2009

The 300^th post was on September 2, 2009

The 400^th post was on December 16, 2009

The 500^th post was on April 7, 2010

The 600^th post was on August 2, 2010

The 700^th post was on December 17, 2010

The 800^th post was on May 17, 2011

The 900^th post was on October 5, 2011

The 1,000^th post was on March 7, 2012

The 1,100^th post was on August 24, 2012

The 1,200^th post was on February 1, 2013

The 1,300^th  post was on June 5, 2013

The 1,400^th post was on October 30, 2013

The 1,500^th post was on April 7, 2014

The 1,600^th post was on, September 18, 2014

The 1,700^th post was on, February 20, 2015

The 1,800^th post is today, June 25, 2015

The top 15 posts, in terms of distribution, have been:

1.     Your Best STAAR Preparation Plan – Section 2 (3/6/2014)

2.     Your Best STAAR Preparation Plan – Section 1 (3/5/2014)

3.     Student Test Taking Anxiety is 99% on Us (3/12/2014)

4.     Campus Security Checklist (12/18/2012)

5.     Be the Best Me in the Classroom (11/14/2014)

6.     Closing the Lesson – It’s All About the Plan (10/22/2014)

7.     New From the Lead Your School Lab... The Fundamental 5 Classroom App (8/26/2014)

8.     A Reader Writes... Lesson Framing – Part 1 (10/11/2013)

9.     A Reader Asks... HS Math Lesson Frames (2/19/2014)

10.  Your 6-step STAAR Preparation Strategy (12/14/2012)

11.  A Principal Asks... Should We Frame a Test (11/6/2013)

12.  Make the Last Month Count (4/25/2015)

13.  A Reader Asks... Lesson Framing (3/18/2014)

14.  Dr. Rich Allen Writes... The Room Set-up Matters (8/20/2014)

15.  Sometimes It Pays to Play the Game (6/26/2013)

There are now international readers and e-mail subscribers, with the following 45 countries represented: 

Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Venezuela

A little blatant self-promotion

First, if you like the blog and you haven’t signed up for the e-mail subscription, please do so.  I find that it’s easier to write to people than it is to write to web hits.

Second, if you like the blog and find it useful, tell three other people.  This blog is a much more powerful resource for school improvement when it is a dialogue.

Third, if you have not sent in a comment yet, please do so.  Education research points out that the act of critical writing actually makes the learner smarter.  Let the blog assist you in sharpening your saw.

Finally

Thank you so much for reading and responding.  This network, which started out as a way for just a handful of principals to stay connected has turned into a small nation of board members, central office administrators, campus leaders, and teachers who are focused on redefining what students are capable of.  Who knows what we will discuss in the next 100 posts.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NAESP National Conference; Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Exactly How Many Guns Do We Need

We continue to arm ourselves and we continue to kill each other with greater ease and efficiency.

It sickens me to hear the comments that if only the good people at a church service were armed that maybe the armed racist, terrorist would not have shot them all down.

Perhaps we should reflect on the fact that it is more difficult to vote than purchase a gun.  And of those two rights, one is infinitely more important that the other.

And the idea that it is an armed citizenry that keeps our government in check requires a paranoid suspension of reason.  To believe that the only thing that separates the volunteer American Military and our duly elected representatives from enslaving us is one’s own personal arsenal is ludicrous.

At some point, we must stand down and ask ourselves how many guns do we need and who should have them? 

Consider... You can’t legally yell “fire” in a crowded movie house. So there are limits to free speech.

Consider... You can’t vote without meeting predetermined requirements. So there are limits to suffrage.

I don’t know about you, but knowing that there are more requirements for a person to legally drive a car than there are to own and carry a gun doesn’t make me feel safer or more free.  And I say this as a long time gun owner and hunter.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: NAESP National Conference; Illinois ASCD Fall Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook