Fighting For Kids by Jane Watt

I’m mindful about staying on topic as I blog.  Clearly, BSAPE is about home renovating and construction, but as I’ve said before it’s about doing the impossible.  My pig’s ears have been seemingly daunting endeavors, at least to others observing, but to me they were just projects, fun challenges, and in most cases they’ve been worthwhile missions.  I sure never felt like I was heading down a road that was a waste of my time, but at the end of many projects, it's seemed to those watching as if I'd done something beyond possible.

 

Enough about me.  Let’s talk about author Jane Watt who is the Board Chairperson at the Marco Island Academy in South Florida.  Jane and the folks she was leading persevered through some unimaginable craziness and did what some dared to say could ‘never’ be done.  They did the impossible.

 

I just finished her book Fighting For Kids:  Battles to Create a Public Charter School and it's an amazing story.  Jane initially went to a meeting years ago to find out how she could maybe stuff some envelopes and help the area start a new school.  However, she quickly found herself in more of a leadership role at the forefront of this quest.  This grass roots effort grew into an ugly battle, and then something of a war with Jane as the general for the rebels.  It got dirty and complicated and she and her troops kept finding a way to navigate the turbulent waters and push on.

 

Chapter by chapter it’s obvious to how tuned-in Jane is to all of those who made the victory possible; talented, resilient, and committed people who helped her fight for the kids in their district.  However, it seems to me that Jane has been the steady constant, who was there from the beginning, who weathered the rejections, attacks, and endless nonsense that culminated in well deserved success for the children and the school.

I don’t want to say too much more because you have to read the book for yourselves.  Fighting For Kids is more than about education and charter schools; it’s an American story with Jane, the wife and mother next door, refusing to back down from a colossal challenge while struggling, sacrificing, and working tirelessly to try to make things better for the next generation.


You may also like It's Possible (Oct. 4, 2011)
or Taking On Risky Challenges Is The American Way (April 26, 2014)