DuPage Co. (ECWd) –
My family has a long list of teaching credentials that I believe offer me an interesting perspective, and I felt it worthy of sharing. I regularly provide classroom instruction to Firefighters all over the country, and although that setting is quite different than a conventional school classroom, I have come to cherish those days of instruction, much as my brother, father, and two grandparents have throughout their teaching career.
It takes passion to become a great teacher. I look at my Grandfather who became known world wide in the dental industry. A man who was forced to retire from the passion of his life at the age of 86 from Northwestern University as a Dental Professor. I can remember sitting in a dental chair while stationed in Anchorage, Alaska and the local dentist took one look in my mouth and called for the other dentists to come look. He knew where my gold foil came from, my grandfather, Dr. Paul T. Dawson.
My grandfather was my best man at my wedding. He was a man who led by example and never minced words. He stood up for what he believed in and spoke out in defense of those who couldn’t. He was a role model for every person blessed to have known him. He was a teacher!
My father is much the same way. A man who devoted his life to his wife , kids and his occupation. A science teacher by education who never wavered in doing the right thing. He took pride in his work and it showed every time I visited him at work. Both students and other teachers respected my father and always had kind words about him. He led by example and assured everyone that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. He was a teacher!
My brother, a science teacher with more passion to educate than I have ever witnessed. He too is much like my father and grandfather. Always looking for that unique presentation to instill a desire to learn. A man who has students move on and succeed in life and come back to thank him and attribute their success to him. He is a teacher!
What role does a teacher have in this society? As it relates to COD, I have pondered over how those instructors are dealing with the undeserved negativity brought down on their campus. A lot of which I contributed to in an effort to expose the malfeasance by their administrators and President.
The teachers are not to blame in this matter. No, in fact they have been sending the messages for many years and We The People did not listen. Much like that young student I wrote about last week. (Click here for that article) They were sending all the signals and no one was paying attention. They deserve better as they are educating our society.
I personally want to thank the teachers and let them know you are appreciated. I share many of the same concerns and ask for your continued dedication to do what you were called to do, teach! You play a key role in solidifying the integrity of COD as an institution of higher learning not just from book knowledge but from leadership. You set the stage for our future. May the the cancer of politics, power and corruption never enter into your fine institution again!
To all the teachers of COD, Thank you!
To all the other employees who are not teachers, you too play a very important role and I want to thank you as well. A school won’t run without the support staff! You too are appreciated!
12 Comments
Richard Jarman
Posted at 11:18h, 15 MarchAnd this letter from a year earlier during the contract negotiations, made deliberately antagonistic by the president, and again pointing out the misuse of taxpayers’ money.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120324/discuss/703249929/
Richard Jarman
Posted at 11:14h, 15 MarchWhile we are at it, this is a link to the letter I sent to the Herald about two years ago before the 2013 election calling for change on the board and pointing out the misuse of public money.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130405/discuss/704059833/
Chris M. Gaines
Posted at 20:28h, 16 MarchRichard,
After reading your two letters, and the other one another person linked here as well, at this website, I feel compelled to write this again… How is it that all this has been brought to the attention to the public by multiple employees for years before I few citizen journalists latched on to it relentlessly and wrote a ongoing series of stories about it and now we see the results that have happened recently? It doesn’t add up in my opinion. Something is obviously wrong with this timeline and the sources involved and the COD Board. Please explain how this happened to me and our audience here? Just trying to understand this all. Thank you.
Bob Hazard
Posted at 16:17h, 14 MarchChris, I’m an English Professor at COD. Here is a link to a letter to the editor I sent the the Daily Herald back in 2011http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110722/discuss/707229936/
Nobody listened.
Chris M. Gaines
Posted at 16:11h, 14 MarchTony,
Thanks for explaining your opinion to our audience here, it makes sense from your perspective as a teacher at COD, obviously. Also, I think it adds credibility when someone is commenting in public to use their real (full legal name) name to make a comment. Anonymity doesn’t foster credibility obviously, in my opinion. It is important to know who is making the comment, and be able to verify their real identity from public records, in my opinion as well. So I commend you for doing that here Tony. Thank you.
My family is also from a long line of teachers…and business owners. My grandfather was a University of Illinois graduate and record holding (to this day) track and field athlete at the U of I and later a Mattoon Illinois high school history teacher and coach, then the Athletic Director at Mattoon high school for over 20 years. The football field at Mattoon high school is named after him, Gaines Field, in honor of his contributions to our Mattoon high school and our community in general. He helped get land developers/major businesses to locate our Cross County Mall located in Mattoon Illinois and then he and my grandmother managed our Mall for over 20 years very successfully most people agree on that now, and before retirement and moving to Florida after all that. He and my grandmother are both deceased now…but, he was / is still considered a “City Father” of Mattoon Illinois, because of his contributions to our community, my hometown and birthplace. Our family (Gaines) has been living in Mattoon Illinois for over 100 years and had many businesses and success over those years and continued to carry on the traditions my grandfather and his father that all started here many many long years ago.
My Grandfather Harry had three sons, his son Jeff is also a University of Illinois graduate and a track and field athlete, setting records as well in high school for the high jump and later became a history teacher at Mattoon high school. My Uncle Jeff had a son named Nick and is also a University of Illinois graduate and a teacher now in Champaign Illinois and was a inner city principle in Chicago before that only a few short years after graduating from Uof I.
My older sister is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and a English teacher at our Charleston Illinois high school for nearly 20 years and well respected in our community as well. Her daughter is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and a music education teacher as well.
That being said, I have a intimate knowledge of public education and the reality of it and how it really works. To say the least real history is not taught in our classrooms to our children, but instead government propaganda mostly for obvious reasons( I have two adult children, a 18 girl and a 20 boy who chose not to attend a University for personal reasons, but easily had offers and had their pick of any in our country) In my opinion, and many like me, public education is designed for specific reasons, not the right reasons obviously. I will leave it at that, but I do respect the dedication of some public teachers still trying to educate our children the best they can confined to the public education system that controls the content and context they must teach if the want to remain employed as public education teachers or have a long career in public education, especially our corrupt State of Illinois as we all know now based on recent history with our politicians and public servants being imprisoned over and over again vand embarrassing our residents of Illinois in doing that, obviously, for being known as the MOST corrupt state in our union currently, still.
But reality is, from my perspective at least, is that ALL this is all controlled by these many many evil secret societies, intentionally dumbing down our society as to then easily control the masses being led to their eventual slaughter as they plan. We are a commodity to them, a “crop” of human slaves to be harvested for their benifits and profit, not ours…in their minds eye. They are the master, we are a slave to them to manipulate, replaceable human resources in their evil world.
Hopefully and I pray that our generation of children like mine will continue to resist this government TYRANNY and the plans of these evil secret societies to establish a one world government and totally dominate even more than they already do in OUR free society supposedly, by not allowing this evil scourge on our society, by these secret societies to rape and pillage INNOCENT people for profit in this fraudulent so called War on Terrorism. Enough is enough, obviously!
The root of all evil is the love (addiction) of money as it’s written in the Holy Bible. That’s is true from my experience in life so far, having money, and not, in my journey through it from poor to middle class to poor again. Never a millionaire like my dad Mike, or a multi-millionaire like my uncle Pat, either…Thank God.
I pray to Jesus Christ daily as we all should, God has mercy on all our souls for allowing this public corruption/ criminal activity by our public servants to happen on our watch in our lifetimes so far.
We the People our responsible for allowing this all to happen to us ultimately. Quit blaming anyone, or everyone else, start with yourself. Be the change you want to see happen in your lifetime. Apathy and separation from each other and God is the real enemy NOT these so called manufactured “terrorist” by our world elites, who are obviously controlled by Satan, and a luciferian doctrine. LUCIFER is the real enemy, a fallen angel in control of our world as allowed by God for now, and is who to blame ultimately, along with anyone who doesn’t resist the temptation of our own flesh and blood as human beings and sinning on purpose, not repenting from sin and asking for forgiveness from God.
Were all are inherently evil as human beings in the flesh and all live the gray shades of the spectrum of color in life. We want to live in a black and white world, with clearly defined rules of right and wrong. We can, if CHOOSE toO, we can rise above this evilness in our world united together, not separate, and not descend into the pit of hell, the wide path… you are given free will as a GIFT from God we are told in the Holy Bible, CHOOSE the narrow path less travelled, don’t be deceived or distracted by meaningless gibberish from fools or by Satan himself or his evildoers, his host he possesses the souls of to carry out his plans, his will, as it’s written already in the Holy Bible.
Their is a reason for everything, therefore their are no coincidences and OBVIOUSLY consequences to all our actions. We all will reap what we sow, and be judged by God accordingly, not man. This is my belief, my faith in God through Jesus Christ that has literally saved my life many times from being murdered by others and at my own hand trying to commit suicide in my darkest hour during my severe depression in my life in my past now I pray. I don’t wish depression on my worst enemy. You can’t understand that unless you experience it, in my opinion.
I pray for my enemies and keep them close to me now to try to change them from my enemy to my allies, and my fellow brother and sister. Love thy neighbor, not hate them. I pray these words inpire others to take mitigated risks and even life threatening risks for other people to secure their FREEDOM, SECURITY and LIBERTY and ultimately that will secure mine and yours toO, I know this. I understand what is in front of my own face as were told in the Holy Bible. Do you?
We become what we think about the most. What are you thinking about today? I pray its other people, and not so much about yourself and your selfish desires. In Jesus Christ name I pray this. Amen. May God bless you and yours, all of us in America and throughout OUR world we all share together in this journey, struggling till end in our lives to do God’s will, not our own. What do you think? What does our audience here really think?
Look in the mirror, it’s your reflection, not mine obviously…seen through your eyes, not mine. It’s the exact opposite of your reflection obviously. Understand that, please. I love you all. Have a nice day. I pray these words have inspired you today, whoever reads them, they are seeds planted that WILL live in eternity online to be harvested by many or maybe just one person, if it helps save that soul from eternal separation from God, my mission is accomplished here then.
Sorry my comment is so long, the Holy Spirit took over and I allowed it to inspire my writing here today, I felt it would inspire others reading it. Please forgive the length of this comment today.
Have a nice weekend everyone, go outside and enjoy this nice warm weather and upcoming sunshine, 72 and sunshine on Sunday. Life is a beautiful thing in my mind, because I choose it to be no matter what the weather is outside or the circumstances in my life or others surrounding me. God Bless You!
Chris M. Gaines
Posted at 23:02h, 13 MarchHard to believe all these people knew about this for years and complained about it and know body supposedly listened to them or did anything about it until a few citizen journalists exposed it recently.. That’s a big pill to swallow in my opinion being well aware of how our world really works controlled by secret societies. Just saying. Please explain how this is possible to our audience here. Thank you.
HMM...
Posted at 12:12h, 14 MarchChris, here’s what you can do. File a Freedom of Information Act request with the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Integrity Section. File a FOIA with the Office of the Executive Inspector General. File a FOIA with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. See what information was provided when – and who sat on it. Also check certain federal agencies, too.
You can also ask the likes of the Daily Herald’s Burt Constable, Dave Savini of WBBM, and others. That will give you your timeline and many more stories than what Edgar County has touched.
Tony Venezia
Posted at 13:18h, 14 MarchChris,
I can’t explain how this went unnoticed. But this is my opinion. Many of the upper administrators and Board of Trustee members felt we (the COD full-time faculty) were a bunch of complainers. These people attributed most to the toxic environment at COD to “30 malcontent” teachers. Our importance to the school has been minimized by both administrators and some board members. A recent (not current) board chair would publicly speak of the great job our faculty is doing in one breath and in the same public discussion speak out against us stating that we are over paid and don’t work hard enough. Our school president, upper administration, and many board members don’t believe that when our faculty president speaks at the board meetings and other official venues he is speaking the collective attitude of most of the faculty. It has been difficult to work under this administration. During the past five years much focus has been placed upon the importance of money. Our president states we are a business and he claims to run the college, as it is one. Faculty members are made to feel they are easily replaceable. There is very little encouragements coming from above. This past year has been one of great sadness and humiliation. There is no one protecting the college. It is my opinion that most of the current school board acts as if it is more important to protect the current administration than the integrity of the school. I have been working at College of DuPage for ten years as a full-time professor. Pryor to that I worked in the industry that I currently teach. I have never personally been involved in a business where it seems like it’s more important to beat down the employees than it is to encourage them to attain greatness.
Chris M. Gaines
Posted at 16:09h, 14 MarchTony,
Thanks for explaining your opinion to our audience here, it makes sense from your perspective as a teacher at COD, obviously. Also, I think it adds credibility when someone is commenting in public to use their real (full legal name) name to make a comment. Anonymity doesn’t foster credibility obviously, in my opinion. It is important to know who is making the comment, and be able to verify their real identity from public records, in my opinion as well. So I commend you for doing that here Tony. Thank you.
My family is also from a long line of teachers…and business owners. My grandfather was a University of Illinois graduate and record holding (to this day) track and field athlete at the U of I and later a Mattoon Illinois high school history teacher and coach, then the Athletic Director at Mattoon high school for over 20 years. The football field at Mattoon high school is named after him, Gaines Field, in honor of his contributions to our Mattoon high school and our community in general. He helped get land developers/major businesses to locate our Cross County Mall located in Mattoon Illinois and then he and my grandmother managed our Mall for over 20 years very successfully most people agree on that now, and before retirement and moving to Florida after all that. He and my grandmother are both deceased now…but, he was / is still considered a “City Father” of Mattoon Illinois, because of his contributions to our community, my hometown and birthplace. Our family (Gaines) has been living in Mattoon Illinois for over 100 years and had many businesses and success over those years and continued to carry on the traditions my grandfather and his father that all started here many many long years ago.
My Grandfather Harry had three sons, his son Jeff is also a University of Illinois graduate and a track and field athlete, setting records as well in high school for the high jump and later became a history teacher at Mattoon high school. My Uncle Jeff had a son named Nick and is also a University of Illinois graduate and a teacher now in Champaign Illinois and was a inner city principle in Chicago before that only a few short years after graduating from Uof I.
My older sister is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and a English teacher at our Charleston Illinois high school for nearly 20 years and well respected in our community as well. Her daughter is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and a music education teacher as well.
That being said, I have a intimate knowledge of public education and the reality of it and how it really works. To say the least real history is not taught in our classrooms to our children, but instead government propaganda mostly for obvious reasons( I have two adult children, a 18 girl and a 20 boy who chose not to attend a University for personal reasons, but easily had offers and had their pick of any in our country) In my opinion, and many like me, public education is designed for specific reasons, not the right reasons obviously. I will leave it at that, but I do respect the dedication of some public teachers still trying to educate our children the best they can confined to the public education system that controls the content and context they must teach if the want to remain employed as public education teachers or have a long career in public education, especially our corrupt State of Illinois as we all know now based on recent history with our politicians and public servants being imprisoned over and over again vand embarrassing our residents of Illinois in doing that, obviously, for being known as the MOST corrupt state in our union currently, still.
But reality is, from my perspective at least, is that ALL this is all controlled by these many many evil secret societies, intentionally dumbing down our society as to then easily control the masses being led to their eventual slaughter as they plan. We are a commodity to them, a “crop” of human slaves to be harvested for their benifits and profit, not ours…in their minds eye. They are the master, we are a slave to them to manipulate, replaceable human resources in their evil world.
Hopefully and I pray that our generation of children like mine will continue to resist this government TYRANNY and the plans of these evil secret societies to establish a one world government and totally dominate even more than they already do in OUR free society supposedly, by not allowing this evil scourge on our society, by these secret societies to rape and pillage INNOCENT people for profit in this fraudulent so called War on Terrorism. Enough is enough, obviously!
The root of all evil is the love (addiction) of money as it’s written in the Holy Bible. That’s is true from my experience in life so far, having money, and not, in my journey through it from poor to middle class to poor again. Never a millionaire like my dad Mike, or a multi-millionaire like my uncle Pat, either…Thank God.
I pray to Jesus Christ daily as we all should, God has mercy on all our souls for allowing this public corruption/ criminal activity by our public servants to happen on our watch in our lifetimes so far.
We the People our responsible for allowing this all to happen to us ultimately. Quit blaming anyone, or everyone else, start with yourself. Be the change you want to see happen in your lifetime. Apathy and separation from each other and God is the real enemy NOT these so called manufactured “terrorist” by our world elites, who are obviously controlled by Satan, and a luciferian doctrine. LUCIFER is the real enemy, a fallen angel in control of our world as allowed by God for now, and is who to blame ultimately, along with anyone who doesn’t resist the temptation of our own flesh and blood as human beings and sinning on purpose, not repenting from sin and asking for forgiveness from God.
Were all are inherently evil as human beings in the flesh and all live the gray shades of the spectrum of color in life. We want to live in a black and white world, with clearly defined rules of right and wrong. We can, if CHOOSE toO, we can rise above this evilness in our world united together, not separate, and not descend into the pit of hell, the wide path… you are given free will as a GIFT from God we are told in the Holy Bible, CHOOSE the narrow path less travelled, don’t be deceived or distracted by meaningless gibberish from fools or by Satan himself or his evildoers, his host he possesses the souls of to carry out his plans, his will, as it’s written already in the Holy Bible.
Their is a reason for everything, therefore their are no coincidences and OBVIOUSLY consequences to all our actions. We all will reap what we sow, and be judged by God accordingly, not man. This is my belief, my faith in God through Jesus Christ that has literally saved my life many times from being murdered by others and at my own hand trying to commit suicide in my darkest hour during my severe depression in my life in my past now I pray. I don’t wish depression on my worst enemy. You can’t understand that unless you experience it, in my opinion.
I pray for my enemies and keep them close to me now to try to change them from my enemy to my allies, and my fellow brother and sister. Love thy neighbor, not hate them. I pray these words inpire others to take mitigated risks and even life threatening risks for other people to secure their FREEDOM, SECURITY and LIBERTY and ultimately that will secure mine and yours toO, I know this. I understand what is in front of my own face as were told in the Holy Bible. Do you?
We become what we think about the most. What are you thinking about today? I pray its other people, and not so much about yourself and your selfish desires. In Jesus Christ name I pray this. Amen. May God bless you and yours, all of us in America and throughout OUR world we all share together in this journey, struggling till end in our lives to do God’s will, not our own. What do you think? What does our audience here really think?
Look in the mirror, it’s your reflection, not mine obviously…seen through your eyes, not mine. It’s the exact opposite of your reflection obviously. Understand that, please. I love you all. Have a nice day. I pray these words have inspired you today, whoever reads them, they are seeds planted that WILL live in eternity online to be harvested by many or maybe just one person, if it helps save that soul from eternal separation from God, my mission is accomplished here then.
Sorry my comment is so long, the Holy Spirit took over and I allowed it to inspire my writing here today, I felt it would inspire others reading it. Please forgive the length of this comment today.
Have a nice weekend everyone, go outside and enjoy this nice warm weather and upcoming sunshine, 72 and sunshine on Sunday. Life is a beautiful thing in my mind, because I choose it to be no matter what the weather is outside or the circumstances in my life or others surrounding me. God Bless You!
Bob Hazard
Posted at 16:18h, 14 Marchhttp://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110722/discuss/707229936/
Bob Hazard
Posted at 16:15h, 14 MarchChris, I’m an English Professor at COD. Here is a link to a letter to the editor I sent to the Daily Herald back in 2011:http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110722/discuss/707229936/
Nobody listened.
Chris M. Gaines
Posted at 00:27h, 15 MarchBob,
Thanks for sharing that with me and our audience here with the link to the your letter you posted online in public. I feel empathy for you and all teachers in general in your struggles in this environment currently at COD and our public education system in general. Just curious… What else did you, could you of done different, besides posting this letter online to sound the alarm bells within your community then? What else are you doing currently to make sure this never happens again in your (our) college, if that’s even possible? I’m thankful for our citizen journalists, like John and Kirk and many more like them for exposing this valuable information in public relentlessly and for teachers like you who are dedicated to our children’s future. Thank you Bob. Have a nice day. May God bless you and yours. I will pray for all involved in this situation currently. Everything happens for a reason, and there is no coincidences. God will work through people to solve this problem, I positive of that. I hope that reassures you. Keep pushing back even HARDER now. Finish the job you started, please. You got this guy and his board on the run. Finish it soon, please.