Recently I read about Scott Bean of the State Education Office coming to BYU and, after reading a BYU Universe Publication, having concerns about BYU and its support of home schooling. As I read the piece again, I began to have my own concerns, not about BYU and home schooling, but about Bean.
You see, if Bean came to BYU's Education Week as a private citizen who is paying for the event out of his own pocket, then he has used his position with the State Education Office to further his personal goals. If he came as a representative of the State Education Office, that is with public money footing the bill, then he came to a private university, read a student publication, and decided that it was misguided and took up a cause to fix the BYU folks.No matter how you cut it, Bean has abused public trust. If he were at BYU privately, he abused public trust (funds, etc.) to further his own goal. If he were at BYU as a paid employee of the State Education Office, he abused public trust by not doing his homework about the publication he was concerned about.
John W. Smith
Provo