THE Truth is, I HATE doing this, but it has always been about “Students First” with me, as I truly tried to work with you Doc, and your office to get vitally needed “Locally Based Resources” to students and teachers. Need I remind you Doc that these “Locally Based Resources were created under the auspices of my Research in my Master’s Program at San Diego State University & approved by Professors, driven by PSS’s standards & benchmarks and the Pacific Education Research Laboratory’s research by the late Dr. Rita Inos, who was the researcher for PREL. But PSS teachers didn’t know these facts and others like the Free Reproduction and other vital Details of Justification, which is why I am writing you publicly to let you know of my immense disappointment by you & your office to “steer the review of the resources to assure they would be rejected.” However, I have submitted a formal request to the Board of Education for an “Oversight Review of the decision to reject the resources,” which is my RIGHT, as I have High Expectations that BOE will be “forthright & fair.” The “bland-no in a phone call” that I got was an insufficient rejection without cause hoping I’d give up — a racist or bias tactic that People my color can smell coming long before others see it for what it is — biasness or worse! I was also certified by BOE to be the Commissioner in 2008, so I know BETTER!
FYI Doc, like in other cases in my efforts to try and work with leaders, too often they PROVE “Not to be TRUE to the Game (the issue)” which was very disappointing, as I truly thought WE were FRIENDS. Ever since my encounter with you as being a Democrat, I have done nothing but idealize you as a good leader. But to see your office fall into the Same-O poli-tricking of rejecting progress because the idea was Ambrodamus without any real justification was truly disturbing. I can even understand PSS saying they didn’t have the money, or we have these kinds of resources but a flat out “no” when teachers weren’t allowed to even hear anything from me nor see the justifications for purchase was WRONG, UNFAIR and totally Unethical! PSS allows other publishers to do presentations for resources & offer purchase justifications but not me, which I know was intentional to set the conditions for rejecting the resources, yet some PSS schools previously purchased some of the resources. Heck, the Community College of Palau even purchased the High School Insular America Booklet and other Regional Resources. Kilili also purchased the Insular America Booklet, without the assessment section, to use for educating members of Congress who didn’t know about the CNMI and the rest of the island groups of Insular America in the American Family. I can only LOL, as the new Republican Delegate just complained nobody in Congress knows about the CNMI, but she refused to purchase the same Insular America resource that Kilili purchased, which is more proof Political BIASNESS looms BIG because had I been a Republican she would have immediately purchased the Booklet and everybody KNOWS-It for TRUE! But you can BET parents are not happy with PSS about the rejection now they know, as PSS won’t even reprint the relished Locally Based Social Studies textbook for elementary students that I got a House & Senate Resolution for creating, ugly & sad.
However, the Insular America workbook is the ONLY educational resources available for teaching students about Insular America and it’s pathetic that your office does NOT want students to learn about our Formal Political Relationship in the American Family and our counterparts in Insular America that is not in the NMI History. Heck, the term Insular America is GREEK to our students and most people in the CNMI and on the mainland because these island groups are not in the textbooks which is the main reason I created the resources in the first place. I am hopeful that your office will be willing to work with the BOE to conduct “a formal & fair oversight review of the resources” if you truly want to make sure the decision was right or wrong, as there is “no shame-in-my-game.” I firmly know from my professors & CNMI teachers who reviewed the resources they can stand on their MERITS if given a fair chance.
I didn’t get any joy in writing this but when a Public Official “turns-on-me and even stabs me in the back” I have no choice but to bring it to the attention of the “Stewards of the CNMI (the People)” in hopes that Public Presssure will be enough to generate real change & progress FOR stakeholders in the CNMI, especially our youth who are now being denied educational resources with academically enrichment experiences about their own region of the world that can’t be found anywhere else in academia — so sad! I know PSS is cutting costs right now, but that is not the issue, as it’s a nominal cost and I can wait for as long as it takes. But PLEASE don’t have our students ignorant about their Region of the world and the many aspects of the CNMI like “Economics & our formal Political Status with other Island groups in the American family” that’s not being taught, as the NMI History textbook is insufficient to address the many things in the resources I submitted for review to purchase. I’m truly sorry about this but you have to fix this Doc, because you have to know it was NOT a fair review process — it’s called public accountability & a late welcome to Public Office!
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Educator, Author & Activist
