Voting Matters: One Voice Can Change Everything

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Voting isn't just a right—it's a profound responsibility that can literally change the course of history. This week, we dive deep into the importance of local elections, particularly those involving our education system, where even a single vote can make all the difference.

The spotlight turns to concerning issues within Denton ISD, where a new high school is being built even as SchoolDigger statistics reveal troubling educational outcomes. I share my perspective on how our modern education system has transformed teachers from educators into test administrators, binding their hands and stifling their passion. The current focus on standardized testing—aptly called "TOSS"—might be something we should indeed toss out completely.

But the responsibility doesn't rest solely with schools. Parents must establish foundations of common sense and morality at home. Some heartbreaking reviews from both parents and students highlight the disconnection and challenges facing our local education system, from unwelcoming environments to concerning social dynamics where athletics overshadow academics and inclusivity is lacking.

The solution? Getting involved. Electing officials with sound moral character. Attending school board meetings. Understanding what's being taught. Breaking through what Simon and Garfunkel called "The Sound of Silence"—that passive acceptance of status quo that leads to isolation and indifference. Our children's futures depend on our willingness to step up, speak out, and champion positive change in our communities.

On a lighter note, don't miss the newly launched Cross Roads Summer Market every Saturday from 8-11am, featuring fresh local produce straight from the ground. And consider supporting our veterans at the upcoming Fortunata Winery fundraiser on May 9th. Ready to share your story or promote your business? Reach out to [e-mail] or call 469-230-5956. Let's build our community together!

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Order your copy today of "Achieve Optimal Brain Health with Nutrition," by Stefan Mcdermott.

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Episode Transcript

Steven Killfoil (00:04):
Cross Roads Podcast.
We'll be right back For thosewho want to be in the know.

(01:03):
Who's your daddy?
Good morning, crossroads.
I'm your host, Steven Kilfoil,bringing you local news and
events in and around our area.
This weekend was the votingweekend and it's very important
that we exercise that right thatis given to us in our

(01:26):
Constitution, for severalreasons, one being that get the
right candidate in for theoffice.
The vote represents the powerof the people, of an opportunity

(01:49):
to have the wrong candidate getin by chance because you failed
to cast your vote and, believeit or not, there have been many
elections won by one vote.
This is how important voting is, so just wanted to put that in

(02:09):
my two cents.
We had several important keyvotes to cast in this election
in our area the Denton ISDrepresentatives.
I mentioned this in particularbecause of what I came across
while researching the Denton ISDrepresentatives and some of our
schools in this area.

(02:31):
Denton ISD is in the process ofbuilding a new high school in
Crossroads to help offset thealready heavy population growth
we are experiencing in our area.
I looked up some of thestatistics on SchoolDigger and

(02:54):
what I found was a littledisappointing.
Coming from a small town andhaving excellent teachers.
I always considered myselfblessed with a good, grounded
education all through grades 1through 12.
However, even my alma materisn't ranking too good lately.
So the question is why youabsolutely cannot blame the

(03:17):
teachers, because the Departmentof Education has successfully
tied their hands over the years.
In today's modern educationsystem, the teachers have been
told to focus on getting thestudents to pass a barrage of
tests, and the schools are nowrated on the results of those

(03:38):
tests.
And when I was in school, therewere only two critical tests
that you needed to be preparedfor the ACT and the CAT.
Those results, as well as youracademic grade levels, would
determine where you would beable to enroll for college or
university.

(03:58):
Not only that, but there wasn'ta thing, as no child left
behind.
You either passed or failed,and there was no one to blame
but yourself.
We would do so much better ifwe would go back to that type of
accountability.
Now, instead of actuallyallowing the teachers to teach,

(04:24):
our society and government isfocused on a test rightly called
the toss.
My personal opinion on this isthat we should toss the toss
test out and on its ear andstart over letting teachers do
what they are so very passionateabout, and that is teach.

(04:45):
The next problem is the parents.
What they are so verypassionate about, and that is
teach.
The next problem is the parents.
Notice, I did not say thestudents, because the education
of common sense and moralityshould start at home, with the
parents.
The challenge is you haveparents who actually yell and
scream at the poor teachers thatthey have been unfair to their
kids.
Let me tell you, some of thosekids need some good,

(05:08):
old-fashioned discipline, loveand support.
Don't expect the teacher toteach your children things that
you, as a parent, should beteaching them at home.
First, it is not the teacher'sresponsibility and second,
without a solid foundation inthe home life, you cannot

(05:31):
possibly expect that student tosucceed in their academic life.
I'm going to climb down from mysoapbox for now and share a
couple of truly sad reviews.
And share a couple of truly sadreviews.
One was actually given by astudent and one was given by an
adult parent.
I will not list which schoolthese came from, only what their

(05:55):
content was.
By the parent I quote theyworked very hard to make us feel
unwelcome and suggestedhomeschooling, even though both
parents worked full-time.
The admin staff I met with wasextremely unprofessional and not

(06:22):
knowledgeable about currentTexas education code, or even
teens and families.
Both parents and the studentput in full effort to work with
the school and admin, so I amlearning now that this is the
norm for new people.
It was a bizarre like a verybad education film about a
school that got left behind andthat was from a parent.

(06:43):
Now this one was from a studentQuote.
Let's phrase it this way I wouldhope to crash my car before
arriving so I didn't have to goanymore.
I am a social person.
I have moved lots and alwaysmade friends.

(07:03):
Not here.
They are mean, rude and justplain gossipers.
It is very much the idealsmall-town country school cowboy
boots and confederate flags.
If you don't play a sport here,good luck.
Academics mean nothing and theadministration does nothing to

(07:25):
solve any issues unless itinvolves football.
There are some great teachers,but sadly they are all.
They all left.
Counselors don't care.
Principals are worse.
Please don't send your kid hereunless they are a star athlete.
Sadly, these two ratings wereas late as 2021, which means we

(07:52):
have a lot of work to still do.
The rank on some of the schoolsin Denton County is not only
shocking but quite sad.
So what can we do about it?
First, you start by electingofficials who have good morals,
character and are not out topush some kind of twisted

(08:14):
ideology down the throats ofpeople who do not see things
their way.
Second, get yourself involvedin your communities.
I don't care if you don't havechildren.
It is your civic duty to getinvolved.
If you sit back, do nothing andexpect the state and federal

(08:36):
government to fix it, then, likethe famous song by Simon and
Garfunkel, sound of Silencerings true.
The song highlights a sense ofemotional and spiritual
emptiness in the modern world,where people are often
distracted by technology andsuperficial interactions, losing

(08:57):
touch with their own innerselves and each other.
It points to the irony of asociety where people talking
without speaking, people hearingwithout listening, indicating
that true understanding andconnection are missing despite
the presence of words and sounds.

(09:18):
The lyrics suggest a passiveacceptance of the status quo,
where individuals are afraid todisturb the sound of silence and
challenge the prevailing socialnorms or injustices.
It warns against the dangers ofbecoming isolated and
indifferent, urging listeners tobreak through the silence and

(09:40):
speak up against what is harmfulor wrong With.
That being said, I willreemphasize the importance of
getting out and casting yourvote for the right candidates to
help operate the Denton CountyISD.
As individuals, show up to themeetings, participate, find out

(10:01):
exactly what is being taught toour children or your children.
You must know exactly what isgoing on so you can effectively
teach and train your child orchildren to be raised up in the
ways of our Lord, so that whenthey are older and become
parents, they will continue todo so as well and will not be

(10:23):
influenced by bad or evilteachings.
Maddie and I were never blessedwith children, but we care
deeply for all the littlechildren in our community and
wish only the very, very bestfor them.
Yes, folks, it's very importantthat we get out and participate

(10:43):
in election time we have.
Our neighbors up in Pilot Pointare going through a tremendous
trial right now of emotions,hurts on both sides, and I
really pray that God will bringa peace and a blessing to that
town, because I really holdPilot Point close to my heart.

(11:06):
I love the folks up there and Itruly, truly hope that they're
able to find some resolution totheir challenges that they're
having right now, and thiselection time is is going to do
that.
It's going to do just that.
So next time you're up there inpilot point, stop in there at
the pilot point coffee house.

(11:26):
Say hey to jemerson, sit down,have a great cup of coffee or a
cold brew.
He also makes a mean eggsandwich as well.
I haven't been up there in awhile and I really need to get
back up there because I missplaying with my friends on the
Tuesday sessions night.
So be looking out for me onthat.

(11:47):
We've had a lot of things goingon here locally with our own
HOA and the neighborhood and thetown.
So my apologies to my friendsout there.
I will be back on Tuesdaysessions, I promise you just
bear with me.
I've got some things to ironout with the HOA where I'm

(12:08):
living and hopefully we can getthings moving on pretty good for
that.
So for some local news andevents around the area this
saturday was the first day ofthe summer market here in
crossroads and it was a hugesuccess.
Dunn farming had some fantasticveg out there.
Maddie and I bought some gooduh shards and some onions and

(12:33):
brought them home and cookedthem right up.
It was great.
There's nothing more tasty thanfresh out of the ground
vegetables and that's the placeto get them on saturdays.
So every saturday morning fromnow I, I think, until August,
from 8 o'clock in the morning to11 o'clock, crossroads has its

(12:58):
summer market going and thereare several other markets in and
around the area.
You should look those up.
Pilot Point has one,krugerville has one, providence
Village has one.
Well, denton has one,providence village has one well,
denton has one too.
So there's plenty of places togo to get good, fresh
farm-raised produce.

(13:18):
Just look them up and make sureto head out there and take
advantage of that for sure.
Okay, well, let's see.
What else do we have going onthe summer market.
Like I said, it's everysaturday morning from 8 am to 11
am.
On Friday, May 9th.
Market Crossroads VeteranAdvisory Committee and join them

(13:38):
for a fundraiser at theFortunata Winery.
Tickets are now available witha $30 donation.
You can either email BrianLugano at B-L-A-G-A-N-O at
C-R-V-E-T-E-R-A-N-S.
org or Christian Cook at C-Cookat C-R-V-E-T-E-R-A-N-S,org to

(14:11):
get your tickets.
That's c cook@ crossroadsveterans.
o rg or Brian Lagano at blagano@ crossroads veterans.
o r g.
Thirty dollar donation and onthe ninth, you can celebrate
with them.
Help them with their littlefundraiser.

(14:32):
It's a great way to give back tothe community and to those
veterans who fought so hard tokeep our freedoms and allow us
to be able to do podcasts likethis.
Get out and vote and not be infear of being arrested for just
merely speaking your mind.
I thank God every day and everymorning when I wake up that we

(14:57):
live in the free republic thatwe do live in, and I hope and
continue that it will continueto be that way.
As long as we keep our eyes onthe Lord, jesus Christ and God,
and never turn our backs on Himor allow our government to do so
, we'll be under his protectionand we will be able to enjoy the

(15:19):
fruits of our freedomsAbsolutely.
Hey, for a great read on brainhealth, check out local author
Stefan McDermott's book onAmazon Achieve Optimal Brain
Health with Nutrition.
Get your copy today.
It is written in layman's termwith recipes and practical

(15:40):
advice that you can use daily.
I have several copies of that,so if you would like one, you
can reach out to me at.
You would like one, you canreach out to me at
crossroadspodcast2023atgmailcomFor questions or comments.
Or if you would like to becomeon the show, reach out to me

(16:03):
crossroadspodcast2023atgmailcom.
We're always looking forward tohaving exciting new guests.
Come on the show and if you owna business and you want to talk
about your business, let meknow.
Call me up, 469-230-5956.

(16:25):
And let's get together, let'stalk about your business, let's
promote it out.
That's what Cross Roads Podcastis for getting the information
out to our community and ourneighbors.
And this is going to be a veryshort one this week Until next
week.
I'll see you at the top.

(16:45):
Have a blessed day and awonderful week.
Bye-bye, Cross Roads Podcast.
We'll see you next time.

(17:54):
But those who want to be in theknow, who's your daddy?