It is up to the appreciative and supportive visitor to tell others
about EDUTRUE and make the home page address or URL
more widely known (https://edutrue.tripod.com/a-files/index.html).
This website includes written correspondence with school officials which I hope will provide further valuable perspective on the challenges of education reform especially for students dealing with bureaucratic hypocrisy, and entrenched denial or indifference. It is always helpful to consider multiple sides of an issue or area of concern, but I am most concerned with the plight of students and their continued underclass status.
If others wish to rebut what I have to say the World Wide Web is available to them and thanks to Web communities like Tripod, GeoCities, and many others, economic limitation need not be a barrier to being heard, at least on the Web. Tripod (according to their stated policy) in no way endorses the website content of members such as edutrue. It should be noted that Tripod (owned by Lycos) is plays a vital role in the continued democratization of the Web and remains deserving of our appreciation and support. This is significant, for those I justifiably criticize have far more resources at their disposal to have their viewpoint be heard or counter any critical commentary presented here.
My preference is to say positive things about people and situations. I feel a responsibility, however, to alert others of situations that must be brought to light in order to affect educational and societal change that is desperately needed. Sometimes to acknowledge and help eliminate or reduce one negative does more good than creating two positives while the troubling negative situation remains unresolved. I feel that our educational system is so rampant with denial that a continuing lack of critical honesty will continue to undermine whatever else we try to do, and institutionalize mediocrity, or worse, more deeply.
It is appropriate that I put my past and present schooling to use here in a practical Web-connected way. As a whole, this website demonstrates my continued dedication to expanding educational opportunities for students who think for themselves, even if it makes management or some faculty uncomfortable. Unfortunately, despite the official claim, it has been my experience that critical thinking is not really welcome if critical viewpoints run counter to the official spin, partiality, or predilection.
Other viewpoints are solicited for this website and may be considered for posting if appropriate to an existing topic. Let's celebrate and preserve existing freedoms by exercising them in constructive ways even if they may be considered a threat to the status quo or the "positive" public relations effort of a particular group or organization.
I ask that any of my criticisms be viewed as just my personal opinion, reflecting a concern for the improvement of learning environments and our global culture as a whole. Hopefully, criticisms of any specific individual, group, or organization will be viewed as my attempt to spotlight areas needing improvement, with a sense that we CAN and indeed MUST improve our educational efforts if we are to succeed and continue as civilized beings with a healthful environment intact.
(Thomas James Darling)
