Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Reader: Firing Randy Turner was the best thing the Joplin School District could do

When I first started reading the following reader comment, I thought, "Here we go again." I was pleasantly surprised. While I am not inclined to believe my firing had quite the impact the reader thinks it did, I still appreciate the thought:

Firing Randy Turner was the best thing the Joplin School District could have done for the students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers of the district.

 It was definitely not the best thing for those who would have been in class, but anyone who thinks Mr. Turner hasn't played a key role in the departures of Jeff Flowers and Angie Besendorfer is sadly mistaken.

CJ Huff got upset because the superintendent in Mr. Turner's book was a buffoon, so he had his administration team do everything it could to ruin Mr. Turner's reputation and Jeff Flowers and the rest of the board just sat there and let them do it. The only problem was it has backfired.

 Mr. Turner's reputation withstood everything Huff and the others threw at him, while their reputations have been ruined. With Flowers and Besendorfer gone and hopefully CJ Huff not far behind, this school district has a chance to recover from the damage this administration has done to it. That might never have happened if CJ Huff had not been stupid and arrogant.

 Mr. Turner should never have been removed from the classroom, but it was the best thing that could have happened for the Joplin School District.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

So The Turner Report and what it has managed to expose to the world outside the Huff-Besendorfer-R8-Reich is the REAL silver lining.
I wonder if the mess can be ever be cleaned up.

Anonymous said...

I can smell a libel suit coming. Calling CJ Huff a buffoon is a slap in the face to all buffoons.

Anonymous said...

6:21~ it will be cleaned up, patience. I believe Huff will be on his way by the end of the year.

Anonymous said...

Can you find out about this please? I was looking up JHS staff on case net and saw that the librarian was tried for "wroggful death." I'm concerned for my children's safety.

https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/searchDockets.do

Anonymous said...

I agree with this post very much. I've been surprised at the random places that Randy Turner's blog comes up in conversation. Folks who are interested in civic matters tend to be aware, regardless of which side of the fence their views are. To say that he hasn't been an influence is about as ostrich as you can get.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Turner…it would be awesome if you would spend your time doing something besides attempting to injure others. You are clearly one of those people who just "likes to watch the world burn." And that for YOU and everyone whom your life touches is unfortunate. It's been said that those who only attempt to destroy others do so because they have been so destroyed that it's all they can do. I believe that is the case with your sad blog that seeks to not just point out "news," but inflame mistruths into contentious rumors that create division and confusion in our already traumatized community.

Perhaps one day you'll be able to use your literary talent for good, rather than the destruction of others. That would be a fantastic day for Joplin. Meanwhile, I hope those who follow you and promote your destructive work can sleep at night knowing how much they've enabled you in hurting our community. True leaders don't seek to destroy others, they seek to understand and work together with others. The truth is that your "leadership" poisons our community, and you have earned no real respect for your work. Rather, you have people who follow you like people follow Soap Operas…"it's just something to do…and it's a lot more interesting to follow somebody else's drama than to deal with the real issues in my own life." Sad. Nobody respects soap opera actors…they just watch them and laugh. That is sadly what is happening for you…you are merely cheap entertainment. And when you're gone, your following will just move on to the next burning flame without a care for you at all. You have no legacy, you're a shiny thing that people are enamored with for the moment. That's all.

This is truly unfortunate as I believe you have literary talent, should you opt to use it to build others up, rather than tearing everyone who doesn't agree with you down. I would challenge you to use half the energy you use to destroy others (making up blatant lies) to make the world a better place. That would be a sweet legacy to leave.

I have a feeling this comment will never make it's way onto your blog…it will be "moderated." But you will read it, no doubt. And I hope it unsettles you greatly. For you are BETTER than this…but you'd rather sell your soul on a blog to a lie to earn a buck. I hope you can sleep at night knowing the truth about who you've become.

Anonymous said...

I have become a great fan of Mr. Turner's posts. Without him, we would know very little about what is happening in the community. It takes courage to stand up to those who oppress others and who will stoop to any low level in order to protect and promote their own agenda. Mr.Turner has given the community a clear picture of what is happening in R8. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing what R8 has done with their millions and millions of dollars, and I know I will be coming here to get that information. The Globe won't tell us the whole story.

Anonymous said...

The worst thing for R8 is that their over the top attempt to discredit Turner made more and more people curious about what they had to hide. If they had half a brain amongst them, they would have known better than to draw so much attention to his blog and his book. That only fed the flames of anger that are brewing at R8. Teachers and staff have a voice that WILL NOT BE SILENCED!! The community has a source for information. Bullies can only be successful for as long as they can dominate a situation. Turner has successfully disabled them. I'm a grateful reader.

Anonymous said...

7:11 is right -Randy has a lot of nerve exposing graft and corruption and incompetence. Who can sleep at nite after exposing the truth?

Unknown said...

I am sure he sleeps just fine. I admire Mr. Randy Turner. I had him class, but he's also been a great mentor and still is, along with leaving lasting impacts on people in a good way. His news that you slander is not stretching the truth. He gives us insight into news we may not otherwise hear about in some cases due to subjects wanting it hidden. That's not corrupt or incompetent. Regarding his literary talent, you support his blog by reading and commenting on posts. So I'm sure he's fine with whatever you have to say, he's gonna keep posting. He also has a site called inside Joplin and has written a number of successful novels. He has plenty of support. So much that he had students, parents, and faculty supporting and protesting to keep him in the school system. If that's not genuine support, I'm not sure what is. You're perfectly welcome to your opinion, but his supporters will always be louder than his non supporters. His blogs are here to stay.
《Elaina Warren》

Anonymous said...

7:11 makes a lot of sweeping allegations without citing any specific issues. and doesnt have the nerve to say who he/she is while making such sweeping allegations. Without Randy Turner we would not know what is going on with the school district and community.