I am writing to endorse Sean Monroe for the Bedford School Board. Over the last two years, parents have begun to wake up and realize they have lost control over how or under what circumstances their children are being educated in the Bedford public school system.
The education of their children is being administered by school board officials and a misguided superintendent who is out of touch with reality, kowtow to teachers’ unions and does not emphasize their children’s best interests.
Sean brings a fresh voice and perspective to Bedford. He is passionate about student academics, is focused on transparency and accountability and champions the notion of limited government, and believes parents (not government bureaucrats) should be making decisions about the education their children receive and the environment in which they learn.
Academics
Sean believes a student’s education should reflect what is required by the New Hampshire Constitution: knowledge and learning are essential to a free society, and it should include learning about literature, the sciences, math, arts, history, humanities, the trades, charity, the economy, and good character.
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Sean believes political agendas and “theories” about how or why our societal constructs exist have no place in the classroom and are best left up to parents. Schools are formative institutions; they were never intended as performative, elitist platforms for attention seekers and idealogues. Sean believes schools should shape students into young adults who can think for themselves, reason, and grow into responsible members of society. He believes teachers should serve as sources of insight and wisdom to shepherd students along that path.
Transparency and Accountability
School board officials and superintendents are not dictators. They are supposed to represent the interests of parents and their children. Superintendents – by virtue of their position (they serve the school board) – also should focus on serving the interests of students. School board officials and superintendents are not public health officials and have no right to insert themselves between parents and their children concerning health or general upbringing.
Sean believes his role as a school board official is, accordingly, limited to serving the interests of parents, focusing on educating children, and otherwise getting out of the way. Sean also believes superintendents need to be held accountable to the school board and to parents.
Parent Choice
Sean believes family is the foundation of education. He believes parents know their children better and care for them more than government bureaucrats.
Sean believes there is no one-size-fits-all approach to education, and there may be strategies for education that work better for some children than others. Thus, he believes educators and parents should be able to work together to best meet the needs of children. They should work in concert – rather than engage in ideological battles – so that child-rearing is easier for parents.
Sean has two children in the Bedford school system and has intimate knowledge of the issues above and is invested in improving Bedford public schools.
He believes the last two years – during which children suffered significantly as schools were shut down and mask mandates endured in schools longer than anywhere else – have provided a sense of urgency among parents to re-establish the values that make up an effective public education: an emphasis on academics, transparency, and accountability, and parent choice. Sean represents these values and will represent the best interests of parents and children in Bedford.
