Cheating Policy

The news is that the Plano ISD is planning to make it easier and more rewarding for children to cheat in school. That is what it means when a child does not get a zero for being caught cheating on that assignment.

Here is a link to the article in the Dallas Morning News:
"Plano ISD considers alternative grading policy By MATTHEW HAAG"

For years I have taken a stand against cheating.

On April 28, 2007 I wrote: "We Need to Address Cheating"

On May 4, 2007 I wrote: "Cheating and the PISD's Glass House" where I discussed how the PISD Administration and Board lost their moral authority to admonish cheating when they named a school after a convicted felon.

On February 20, 2008 I wrote: "Good Leaders are Ethical Leaders", where I discussed what I now call "The Pledge to Justice":

The Pledge to Justice
We do not steal, we do not cheat, and we do not hurt other people.
We are people of integrity, competence, and compassion.

Cheating and stealing are closely related. It is a small step from cheating to stealing.

On February 28, 2008 I wrote: "Plano ISD Sends Wrong Message About Theft." The PISD administration interfered with discipline at Plano Senior High and forced some cheerleaders who had been caught shoplifting back onto the cheer squad over the objections of the staff at the school.

Clearly, the PISD Administration and Board of Trustees have been soft on cheating and stealing for years. The message they give to the world is that cheating and stealing are good if you can get away with it, if you have political pull.

If there are no consequences for cheating, then the Administration and Board would be encouraging our children to cheat: there would only be an up-side to cheating, there would be no down-side. Honest children would be the laughing-stock of the cheaters, and that is where I would guess this Board of Trustees is headed.

The district curriculum and budget are clearly mismanaged. If the incumbent in Place 7 and the "establishment candidate" in Place 6 win, then clearly no amount of mismanagement will ever dislodge the board members. I predict that if the board candidates win, that the consequences for cheating will fly out the window after the election and the cheating that is already a problem in Plano will be rampant. That will be one more nail in the coffin for the reputation of the Plano schools.

Here is an appropriate quote from Herbert Spencer:
"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools."

The flip side to that quote is that honesty is wise.

I believe honesty is empowering.

On February 22, 2009 I wrote: "The Trust Texas Project" where I suggest a reputation for honesty in finance could be a competitive advantage in strengthening the banking industry in Texas to gain prominence in national and international financial circles.

If you have never voted in a school board election, then this is your time to shine. We stand at the edge of the abyss. If the clique running the school board remains intact, Plano will become a cheaters paradise and our district will fall into an irreversible death spiral.

Please vote for Robert Canright for Place 7 on Saturday May 9.
For Place 6 I recommend Steve Navarre.

Robert Canright

Plano School Quality Slips

The top chart shows the results of the 2008 TAKS tests. They show 87% of Allen and 87 % of Frisco schools are ranked Exemplary or Recognized by the TEA, while 69% of Plano schools and 66% of McKinney schools are Exemplary or Recognized.

Plano trails both Allen and Frisco in the TEA measure of superior schools. Allen and Frisco ISDs are rated "Recognized" by the TEA. Plano is an "Acceptable" district.

Allen and Frisco have more good schools than Plano.

The second chart shows the percent of schools ranked "Academically Acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.

Allen has 5%, Frisco 11%, Plano 24%, and McKinney 34% schools ranked "Acceptable."

"Acceptable" is not good, it can mean the school is on the borderline of being "Unacceptable."

According to the TEA measurements, the Plano ISD is more like the McKinney ISD than like the Allen ISD or Frisco ISD.

There is a Plano Spirit. Plano is a great community. We are slipping in some ways, and our schools are definitely slipping, but we can fix that if we face the problems and make good choices.

Wasting money on WiFi wireless internet is a bad choice that not only wastes money that could be spent on teachers, but it wastes the time of the administration and everyone involved. The entire WiFi wireless boondoggle is a mistake because it diverts attention away from education and will drive school quality down even more. Here is a link to an article about the WiFi wireless network that PISD wants to beam into private homes. The PISD administration and board allow themselves to become distracted by non-essential adventures while they neglect their primary duty of educating the children. This misplaced focus of attention contributes to the decline of our schools.

The Board of Trustees and the Plano ISD Administration have taken their eyes off the ball and they are striking out.

If you value the education of our children, if you value the Plano community, if you care about your property values, then put new people on the Board.

You have a clear choice for Place 7: Vote for Canright.

Robert Canright

Canright Cares

Plano is a great city with great kids. I care about the kids in Plano, which is why I tutor some kids in math for free.

In Round Rock last year, after a great football game, I noticed a car full of teenagers that was not leaving the parking lot. I drove over, with my family, and asked if everything was okay. It turned out they had a flat tire.

The boys said they knew how to change a tire, but I parked the car and asked them to show me. Well, they were missing the crank they needed to jack their car up. I loaned them my crank, and then discovered they did not really know how to change a tire.

I changed their flat tire for them, told them their spare was low on air and they needed to get more air in the spare. I had my daughter get their phone number and check on them to make sure they made it safely to a gas station to get their tire inflated.

I love my children, but I care about all the children of Plano. I could tutor just my children, but I do more than that. And I want all the children of Plano to get the best education we can provide them so they can live full and prosperous lives.

We do need to make changes in Plano to give our children the best education. I am willing to work to help make those changes just as surely as I am willing to change your child's car tire if needed, but I need your help. You need to vote for me on election day, and call and email your friends to get them to vote.

Thank you,
Robert Canright

Professional photography by Alisha Downs from Beyond Exposure

The American Dream

My view of the American dream is for my children to have a better life than mine. I would like every generation to have a better life than the one before.

I tutor my children because my education was better than the education they are getting in the Plano ISD. I would like all the children of Plano to have a better education, so I run for the school board with the intent of improving education.

I worry the future will be difficult. That's what I meant when I ran 3 years ago and said, "We must prepare our children for a future beyond our imagination." If it was a good future, I would not have had to run for office. I want my children to have a better life than I have had, but I worry that might not happen because all of our children might face a bleak future.

Our children need more than a better education for the challenges of tomorrow, they need a different type of education. Our school leadership is like a group of old generals trying to fight a new war with the old strategy from the last war.

We need a better strategy for the future. We need new blood on the school board. Vote for Canright to give your children hope for a brighter future.

Here is a nice article about the election by Heather Smith at the Plano Star Courier.

Robert Canright

It's Official: My Hat is in the Ring

I have filed to run for Place 7 in the May 9th PISD election for the Board of Trustees.

I have not yet started my campaign, but my opponent has and she is running hard.

Three years ago I campaigned with a slogan, "We must prepare our children for a future beyond our imagination." I repeated that message in 2007, and now I see my words echoed on my opponent's website. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I feel flattered.

Remember to vote for the real voice for change, not the echo.

Robert Canright

Articles on the Election

Here's an article in the Denton Record-Chronicle. (April 27, 2008)

Here's the Dallas Morning News (April 27, 2008, same content as the Denton Record-Chronicle).

The Murphy Monitor,

The Plano Star Courier waited until the day before the election to pretend to cover the election. The Courier ignored everything I said about issues and the proposals I made to improve education. All the Star Courier said was, "Incumbent Brad Shanklin is challenged by Robert Canright for Place 4 on the PISD School Board." By the time the Courier published this single sentence, 60% of the voters had already voted.

I thought you had to go to Putin's Russia to see ideas so thoroughly suppressed. Who would have thought we'd have censorship in Plano, Texas?

The Courier provided better coverage after the election was over: link.

This goes to show that if you read one newspaper, you need to read at least a second paper for balance. I do think that newspapers are dying because people get better information from the internet than from newspapers.

Robert

The TAKS Test is Trouble

I've spoken out against the TAKS test at meetings. This link shows the answer I gave at one meeting.

If you want change, vote for me. Remember, I endorse David Hall for Place 5.

Robert