Being an educator I always welcome the opportunity to teach and this letter offered just such an opportunity. Most people realize that letters to the editor are opinionated and sometimes they even have a few facts. But it is the purely opinionated letters that give people the biggest entertainment because it’s not about facts just opinions to attack people like the recent letter to me. I want to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to give this lesson on the facts v his opinions because many people have asked me who is this guy and what is his problem — so here is my answer.
The first fact is most people don’t even know who he is and why a person in Arizona who doesn’t even vote here would write something like that and the answer is his pure hatred and envy toward me for being known and active in education. The next fact is he should have known better than to attack someone publicly based solely on his opinion especially when everything I wrote was factual. Another fact is everyone who really keeps up with the letters to the editor knows he only opened the door for a good old fashion education coated with embarrassment. Most readers with common sense have learned that I’m very capable of defending myself in this arena and it is because I learned from the best. But what has set me apart form the opinion haters is the principles and values that I have been fighting for are infallible making the opinionated attacks against me with twisted facts futile and even embarrassing especially when I respond with the facts.
I wrote a simple letter on how teachers, staff were not being treated fairly in the promotion process to become a principal. But just because I was one of them the author of the letter had to focus only on me — duh! But maybe this comparison will teach him a lesson about facts versus opinions because people with common sense let opinions go in one ear and out the other but when it comes to dealing with the facts their thoughts are transformed to a realm of being real and perpetual. Who in their right mind would believe his opinion that I don’t have an administrative degree when the fact is I have a master’s degree in the administrative and academic leadership for higher educational institutions? DUH!
Who in their right mind could think that because I was not an acting principal that I can’t be a principal when the facts are none of the present acting principals had experience when they were appointed, as a Board of Education member I have played an active part at the highest level in the administration of the entire public school system dealing with all the academic programs, the financial status and policies governing our education system? There are only a small handful of people in the entire CNMI who know as much or more about our system than me, especially when I studied and dissected our school system during my masters program.
Who can believe a person who says my experience is impressive but it is not public education when public education is also a business that provides a service like all the other entities be it public or private. Our education system requires more than academic services and apparently his opinion forgot that PSS is a business that must follow the same business practices and procedures as other businesses and companies. I just wish he would have dared to try and explain his opinion on how I was certified as being qualified to be the commissioner but I’m not qualified to be a principal but that’s entirely tooooo much of a challenge for a purely opinionate letter as there are no facts to support such an argument.
I didn’t understand why he even mentioned my activism saying it didn’t have anything to do with my qualifications to be a principal? I can’t say for true but it sounds like the author was just hating as my students might say. His opinion about what was legal and what was not legal also doesn’t even matter now because teachers haven’t had a teacher rep for two years since I refused to run again. Where was his solution to helping teachers get their rights and representation on the board? Oh, he was too busy talking about me to even consider being apart of a solution which is a reflection of his true colors. We all have our own little pet names for people with the attitude of killing the messenger and to hell with the message. People with common sense know he couldn’t have been concerned about doing good or being a part of the solution just provoking his personal preferences and vendettas hoping to get more help. I will tell people on occasions when discussing serious issues that “God is in this” but sometimes we need to be reminded that the “the devil is in this too” and he uses people just like God uses people. I don’t have to say who was using the author who sent the letter common sense people already know — but I still forgive him.
As for his opinion of me on as the teacher rep, well I think everyone including the blind people saw through that cloud of opinionated smoke he wrote. It is not even worth explaining. He just needs to read the CNMI’s Constitution and get educated on the facts because his opinion is messed up BIG TIME. The facts and records will show I am right and that I have been promoting the values and principles of America and fighting to help teachers gain their constitutional rights since 1998. The sad fact is only educators have been fighting against me and when this guy who wrote the letter was teacher rep he couldn’t even finish his term AND he didn’t do squat. Now people know why they have forgotten him or don’t even know who he was and I’m not about to give him any popularity among the other opinion haters out there by using his name.
I don’t have to say which choice people will make when it comes to opinions or facts — a lesson I hope the author of the letter has learned because opinions are always thrown out and even laughed at but the facts remain forever. Meaning — the fact that other people were qualified and not given a fair chance to become a principal, the fact that our education system didn’t and still doesn’t have a promotion system, the fact that I am fighting for constitutional rights and privileges of all teaches will far out weigh his opinionated letter about me in the minds of the people. Next time he should try to stick to the issues and try to be apart of the solution using facts and stop worrying about me. I hope the author of the letter can appreciate this lesson on facts v opinions although writing your opinion wasn’t a waste of time because it did open the door wide to educate opinion haters and for me to exploit your letter like I just did and I enjoyed every letter that I wrote. Thanks
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
