 John HendrixEarth/Space Systems and Astronomy Teacher Montgomery, MCEA  |
Well, the 2008 convention is drawing to a close...
10/18/08 - 4:59 p.m.
Well, the 2008 convention is drawing to a close, and that means it’s time for the drawing. I never win, however.
Soon, many delegates will be making the long drive back to their home counties, just in time to prepare for going to work on Monday. Others will spend the night here and leave in the morning. That’s what I prefer to do.
I look forward to the 2009 convention, which will be the first as MSEA and the first under new national leadership led by Barack Obama. It will be a different time, and I, for one, am hopeful.
Taking a nap actually increases productivity
10/18/08 - 4:39 p.m.
After enjoying a fine pastrami sandwich at BJ's, we returned to the afternoon session. Eating makes me sleepy, and I wish that American culture would come to accept the afternoon nap as common practice in our society. Studies have shown that taking a nap actually increases productivity. I'm sure that our health would improve and that people would be nicer to each other too. It's too bad that there is little chance to enact a national napping law, but it would be nice if we did. Then again, sleeping makes me hungry, so I would end up caught in an eating/sleeping feedback loop that would probably get me fired.
After concluding that I shouldn't be napping after all, I was treated to a very good speech by the Maryland Teacher of the Year, William Thomas from Prince Georges County. He stated that we need a union to "protect us from ourselves." His point was that the nature of our jobs is such that we are too willing to sacrifice our time and resources for the sake of our kids. We end up working more and more for less and less until the stress of the situation makes us ineffective. In some parts of the country, and the state, many educators are already there.
That's why we are here in a chilly, rainy weekend, giving life to an organization that speaks for us and help us hold the line against those that, for fiscal or other reasons, are too eager to exploit us.
I look forward to the 2009 convention
10/18/08 - 3:16 p.m.
I look forward to the 2009 convention, which will be the first as MSEA and the first under new national leadership led by Barack Obama. It will be a different time, and I, for one, am hopeful.
Well, the 2008 convention is drawing to a close, and that means it's time for the drawing. I never win, however.
Soon, many delegates will be making the long drive back to their home counties, just in time to prepare for going to work on Monday. Others will spend the night here and leave in the morning. That's what I prefer to do.
I look forward to the 2009 convention, which will be the first as MSEA and the first under new national leadership led by Barack Obama. It will be a different time, and I, for one, am hopeful.
I’m happy to be writing this from the floor of MSEA
10/18/08 - 2 p.m.
I’m happy to be writing this from the floor of MSEA, the now aptly named Maryland State EDUCATION Association. The name change is long overdue, but it is perhaps appropriate that it came at a time when “change” is the overriding theme in politics and economics. In two weeks, another long overdue change will take place when the executive branch of our government returns to Democratic control.
Your local delegation needs you.
10/18/08 - 9:30 a.m.
It is entirely too early in Ocean City. Today is the day when the real business takes place, so the Locals usually meet to take positions on New Business Items, or NBIs. Therefore, we at MCEA had to get up before the sun to attend our morning caucus. This task was not made easier by having attended the Seacrets party last night, which was actually a lot of fun.
In my opinion, our delegation, MCEA, usually takes reasonable positions on new business. We are far from monolithic in our stances; however, being a large delegation means that there is always spirited debate, even surrounding seemingly uncontroversial items. If our delegation were small, as are some of the MSTA affiliates, fewer points of views would be expressed, debate would not be as spirited, and our resulting positions would not be as well reasoned. As it is, Montgomery County is entitled to have roughly twice as many delegates here as are now present. MCEA, MSTA and the economy of Ocean City would benefit greatly were we to increase our participation. If you are reading this, then you are interested in the business of the association, which means that you really ought to be here losing sleep as well. Your local delegation needs you.
Governor that puts real funds behind his words of support
10/17/08 - 11 a.m.
Governor O’Malley addressed the convention this morning. Although I don’t agree with the Governor on every issue (like slots, for example), it is enormously gratifying to me to have a Governor that puts real funds behind his words of support for public education.
I was very happy to see that funding for the Geographic Cost of Education Index, GCEI, was not touched in the recent round of budget cuts. This money is sorely needed by Montgomery County, where I work, and where a huge chunk of Maryland’s economic wealth is centered. It should be noted that O’Malley’s predecessor, Mr. Ehrlich, never gave a nickel to fund the GCEI and made college education beyond the reach of many of my students. What an embarrassment for a progressive state like Maryland to have elected such an empty suit to lead our state for four years. I suppose Maryland can be forgiven, having righted its blunder and replaced Mr. Ehrlich with a far more reasonable leader.
More reasonable, but not perfect. I would hope that Maryland would fix its flawed tax structure before it turned to revenue from questionable sources to find money to fund services, for example. Still, Mr. O’Malley is as different from his predecessor as Mr. Obama will be different from his.
I hope that we steer this ship in the right direction.
10/17/08 - 10 a.m.
Another mid-October finds me back in Ocean City at the inaptly named Maryland State Teachers Association annual gathering. It’s a beautiful, autumn day here on the eastern edge of the state. This morning, the sunrise gave the ocean a golden sheen so bright that it appeared to be a sea of molten metal. The effect was fleeting, like an instant of joy, or like one of those moments when we think we finally understand something before we forget it again. Still, it was worth the trip, and being up in the early morning to attend the convention.
If you have never taken the opportunity to get involved with your local association and have never attended this convention, or the more elaborate NEA meeting, you really should. After all, our very lives are as fleeting as the golden sunrise, and we only have a limited time on this planet to do whatever it is that we’re supposed to be doing. Seize the day, they say, and so hundreds of us are here to do just that. We seek to affect the policies, the direction, and, once again, the very name of our organization. I hope that this is the year that we finally become MSEA, recognizing the broader components of public education in the 21st century.
So I’m glad to be here in 2008. I hope that we stir this ship in the right direction. Organizations live longer than people, but they are made of people and are therefore subject to the same human frailties that affect us all. MSTA is not always right, and often reaches the wrong conclusion given the facts. Still, it is capable of change, slow and ponderous as it may be. It can support hair-brained funding mechanisms (like slots, in case you don’t get my drift) in a moment of fiscal panic, but it can also come to its senses, after more careful consideration. Time is ticking away, so let the consideration begin.
