Antisemitism on display. This is not new to Florida. There have been similar occurrences downstate, most notably in Orlando, even more notably because Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, refused to condemn the neo-Nazis involved and left it to his spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, whose interpretations and propaganda on behalf of DeSantis boggle the mind, to posit that they weren’t really Nazis, they were people pretending to be Nazis to embarrass the governor.

But this is in Jacksonville on the Chaffee Road overpass that carries traffic over I-10 as it begins its long journey from the St. Johns River to Los Angeles.

Grumpy Old Teacher (GOT) lives eight miles west of the overpass in a small town that could be described as Old South and there’s no conditional verb needed to note it is Trump country. The 2024 flags break out every so often.

Thus, this is no surprise to GOT but it is a momentous event in our current lives and trajectory into our country’s future.

This is no 1960s Nazi parade through Skokie, Illinois, a Chicago suburb with a large number of Jewish residents that the ACLU would defend as free speech, offensive as all would perceive, but free speech nonetheless. Those were attention-seeking events that made noise in the media, but were otherwise ignored. The fringe was seen as fringe, sore losers in a great conflict that had been decided a few decades earlier.

But this is something different. This is American racism, as old as the country itself, believing it is time to appear publicly once more with its targets being Black people, Jewish people, Spanish-speaking people from other Western Hemisphere nations, and most recently, the LGBTQ community.

This is American racism directed against our Jewish friends and neighbors with old, tired tropes like the Communist symbol that disappeared with the Soviet Union, a political entity not known for its love of the Jewish people. This is what evil looks like when it appears among us. It goes by many names, you already know them, there is no reason for GOT to give hate groups free publicity.

There is no place for antisemitism in America and that includes Florida. But this is what we get when a political party becomes the home for a desperate minority who fears losing their power and their privilege. That party now bases its political fortunes on indulging the worst fantasies and prejudices of white supremacy.

This is the broader societal trend that manifests itself in new laws and regulations that shut down free speech and the integrity of academic inquiry in our schools with the bans on discussing race, American history that is anything but a white-washed version of actual history, and understandings of gender identity. Understand that these vague laws intend not only to sanitize classroom lessons so only the approved version is explored, but also to chill all expression, school clubs, even private conversations with trusted adults.

It is a waste of time to argue with these hateful people. To tell them that their words and actions are causing higher rates of mental illness, especially depression, in young people with higher incidences of self-harm and suicide will not persusade them. They don’t see this as a problem.

What they do see as a problem is an attempt by public schools to teach the truth. Thus, at the behest of Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida legislature passed bills to stop schools from addressing racism or issues of gender identity. One is infamously known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The Governor’s idea is to stop the indoctrination of children by mandating his version of indoctrination.

But there are many more grumpy teachers than GOT, many of whom may be willing to buck the law and carry on as they always have. They will soon be out of a career.

As of yesterday, anyone can file a complaint against any Florida public school teacher for anything they deem as indoctrinating their children about race or gender, and thereby cost that teacher not just their job but their ability to teach at public schools in Florida. pic.twitter.com/AO6aoW6Z1o

— Alex Wagner Tonight (@WagnerTonight) October 21, 2022

Florida law mandates that the Holocaust is taught in our schools. This has been a huge political talking point for the party that has controlled Tallahassee and the Governor’s mansion for over 20 years, the same party referenced above that provides cover to white supremacy who feel entitled to display anti-semitic banners on an interstate overpass.

But that same party won’t condemn these displays. Ironic, isn’t it?

In the LOTR movie The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and Gandalf sit together and Frodo laments that he wishes the ring had never come to him and none of it had happened. Gandalf responds that all wish that who live in times of trouble, but that is not for them to decide. What we must decide is what to do with the time we have.

It is time. Time to stand up and call out evil for what it is. Time to eradicate racism in all its forms, including the hatred of Jewish people. This is wrong and we must speak up. We must take action against this.

You never think it would happen to you. Then, it does. Fortunately for Grumpy Old Teacher’s (GOT) district, the procedures worked. The threat never got into the school building. Shortly thereafter, school police confronted him two blocks away and the threat was over.

The doors were locked. As the threat tried to gain entry, an alert employee triggered a school lockdown and called the authorities. The threat tried twice to get into the school before, frustrated, he left the campus. The safety protocols worked.

How many times does this take place across the United States? Note that the threat (not gentleman, GOT has no idea why the superintendent would use that word to refer to him, maybe it was emotion and trying to present a calm front for the media) was armed with a ‘large axe,’ not firearms.

Here is the message she sent to employees, which parallels the public statement released to parents and the community:

Dear Team Duval,

By now, you have probably heard media reports about the incident that occurred at [redacted], concluding in a church parking lot about two blocks beyond the school. I am writing to let all of Team Duval know how thankful I am for the [redacted] staff member who recognized a potentially dangerous situation at the school and took appropriate steps to keep our students and staff safe.

In case you missed the media reports, an unknown person wielding a large axe attempted to enter the school. Following our procedures, the individual was not permitted access, and the front office staff member called the code red. While it was obviously a tense situation, our staff followed their training, and our students and staff remained safe.

School Police quickly intervened when the suspect fled the campus. Unfortunately, the situation escalated in the church parking lot, and our police officer was forced to shoot the suspect.  While it is saddening that the event ended in this way, I am very thankful for the professionalism of our school staff and our School Police officer who each took the steps necessary for the safety of the school community.

In addition to my desire to share my gratitude for these staff members, I also want to remind everyone of the importance of our procedures and our training.  Every day, we rely on each other—and our students rely on us—to maintain safe and secure campuses.  Today at [redacted], it all worked, and we all get to realize how important it really is.

Thank you again to School Police and the [redacted] staff.  You are truly heroes.

(Redactions were made by GOT.)

Today, it went right. But how would things have turned out if the threat was armed with guns? Probably somewhat different. Hopefully, the threat will recover and investigators can find out why he went to the school Friday afternoon. After all, we live in a society wherein the weak and vulnerable are too often targeted to become victims.

Some of who may think you know where GOT is going. Oh, he’s going to call for gun control. Yes, sometimes we have to give up a bit of freedom in order to enhance our safety. GOT declines to say where he would draw the line, but can we all acknowledge that we can’t have either absolute and need to decide where the line should be?

We hear about the places where things go terribly, tragically wrong. Many more times it goes right. You never think it would happen to you until it does. May it go right in your time of trouble.

Not these …

Or these …

And this is plain foolish to call a charger (cough, cough Google Search) …

These.

The great advantage to computer testing is that test security issues are gone. No more clandestine teacher/administrators huddled in a conference changing bubble sheet answers, no more vanished test books before or after the exam, no serial numbers to keep track of, only the students have access once the proctor has allowed them to enter the test during the actual session and once the students submit the test, the server locks the results and they cannot be altered.

The disadvantage is that the entire testing endeavor is now subject to the whims of the technology gods, who on any given day can be more capricious than the martial Norse or the randy Greek/Roman.

Savvy teachers who have been drafted as proctors, almost every teacher is, know to provide extension cords and power strips because children forget to charge their devices overnight. Indeed, with curriculums moving online as the only way to access the textbook, students are using their school-issued devices all day long and will need to plug in long before the school day ends.

But it is in the nature of a child to break things and to lose things. They now show up for a mandated test, state or district, with a depleted battery and no charger. They ask for one.

To the credit of Grumpy Old Teacher’s (GOT) district, they met this need by providing classroom teachers with a charging device that has a ten-foot panel that unfolds and can lie on the floor or across a back shelf. There are four devices that are placed on the panel each of which has two cords for connection. Strategic placement in the room will handle eight students.

But when there are more than eight without a power source, creative seating is needed so students can pass their cords back and forth to keep everyone’s computer alive long enough to finish a test.

The hidden flaw of the brave new world we inhabit is that everything rests on a power supply. GOT isn’t 100% certain this post is worthy of your notice, but then, who else can you read to get a report of how things really go down in the classroom. Often, this kind of post gets the highest readership.

As GOT ended this week with the finale of the Fall testing window, students needing a charger was the biggest challenge. The topic has been on his mind.