I exercised my right to use the option of absentee voting this afternoon, and I was surprised that it took about 45 minutes to do so. Last year when I needed to vote absentee, it took about ten minutes. I was the only person voting that afternoon. Today I was joined by dozens of others who were exercising their right as well.
It was very encouraging to see the number of people who were already out ready to exercise their right of citizenship. There were all sorts of people there--many elderly people who were with their grown children who were assisting them because of a variety of health issues. I talked to a marvelous gentleman in line behind me who was carrying his oxygen tank and sitting in a portable walker. He told me that his wife had fussed at him last night because he had sent more money to the Obama campaign in spite of these hard economic times. He said that he had donated 8 or 9 times already even though he has never contributed to a political campaign before.
I talked to teachers and retired teachers and students and I saw all ages, waiting patiently in a facility that was clearly not set up for the volume of business that they were handling this particular day. There were two fabulous gentlemen who were shouting out directions and guiding people to fill out the forms properly, making sure that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do. I thought of them as angels because in spite of what could clearly be a frustrating job, they were gracious and patient and still cheerful after answering the same question hundreds of times.
I didn't count, but I bet that in the time I was there, I saw at least 100 people--those ahead of me in line and those waiting in line behind me as I left. I arrived at about 2:35--I left at 3:15.
I share all of that with you by way of encouraging others to vote before the 4th if you can. If you can't, however, please go prepared for a lengthy wait. Take a bottle of water and a snack with you. Take a yard chair if you have bad knees or a bad back that will make standing for over 30 minutes uncomfortable for you. Take a book. Take a friend that you haven't seen for awhile so your can catch up while you wait in line together and the time will go by more quickly.
Whatever you do, don't let the long lines and what could be a very long day deter you from participating in this historic election. I write this mindful that not everyone who may read this post plans to vote the same way, and that is absolutely okay. EVERYONE's vote counts, and this is no time for the faint of heart regardless of their personal politics. Regardless of your choice on the 4th, in the long run, we owe it to our children to demonstrate for them in a meaningful way that we believe in the democratic process (notice the little "d") and we are in a position to make history on Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Educators & Politics: An Unlikely But Necessary Match
The election for the highest office in our land is fast approaching. Given that this has been the longest presidential campaign in history, it hardly seems possible that it will all be over in a little less than one month.
The National Education Association and its state affiliates have recommended the candidate that we believe has offered the best platform on public education, and our members have been working hard to participate in the process in order to bring about the outcome that we believe is in the best interest of the students we teach and the personnel who work in our public schools.
The fact that the NEA and its state affiliates are working so hard for their chosen candidate doesn’t sit too well with some people, but that is okay. We live in a country that is based on the principles of democratic discourse and debate. What isn’t okay is when disagreement leads to name calling and the debasement of those who disagree. There are those who would apparently like to bully educators into silence during these final weeks of the election. Fortunately, that isn’t going to happen; but it is a sad day, indeed, when certain individuals will rely on any tactic necessary—including personal attack—on those who have the temerity to disagree with them.
I urge my fellow educators to participate in this election to the fullest extent that they can. Many teachers tend to shy away from political action because it is sometimes unpleasant. I used to be one of those individuals. I didn’t believe that teachers and educational support professionals should “dirty their hands” with politics. We should somehow be above all that.
What I finally came to understand is that educators are impacted by political decisions that are made on the local, state, and federal level every single day. From the moment we arrive at school until we leave, every aspect of our work day is driven by a political decision of some sort—from the curriculum, to the number of children we can have in our classes, to the number of minutes we can have for planning time—or not, depending on whether we even get a planning time.
If we don’t start participating in a more meaningful way in the political process, educational policy decisions will continue to be made without our input. That has been happening for far too long, and it is time for us to wake up to our true power and start exercising it in a meaningful way through the political process that is available to us. Will that make everyone happy? No. Is it the right thing to do? You bet. Educators and politics may be an unlikely match, but if we are to take back control of our own profession, it is one that is absolutely necessary.
The National Education Association and its state affiliates have recommended the candidate that we believe has offered the best platform on public education, and our members have been working hard to participate in the process in order to bring about the outcome that we believe is in the best interest of the students we teach and the personnel who work in our public schools.
The fact that the NEA and its state affiliates are working so hard for their chosen candidate doesn’t sit too well with some people, but that is okay. We live in a country that is based on the principles of democratic discourse and debate. What isn’t okay is when disagreement leads to name calling and the debasement of those who disagree. There are those who would apparently like to bully educators into silence during these final weeks of the election. Fortunately, that isn’t going to happen; but it is a sad day, indeed, when certain individuals will rely on any tactic necessary—including personal attack—on those who have the temerity to disagree with them.
I urge my fellow educators to participate in this election to the fullest extent that they can. Many teachers tend to shy away from political action because it is sometimes unpleasant. I used to be one of those individuals. I didn’t believe that teachers and educational support professionals should “dirty their hands” with politics. We should somehow be above all that.
What I finally came to understand is that educators are impacted by political decisions that are made on the local, state, and federal level every single day. From the moment we arrive at school until we leave, every aspect of our work day is driven by a political decision of some sort—from the curriculum, to the number of children we can have in our classes, to the number of minutes we can have for planning time—or not, depending on whether we even get a planning time.
If we don’t start participating in a more meaningful way in the political process, educational policy decisions will continue to be made without our input. That has been happening for far too long, and it is time for us to wake up to our true power and start exercising it in a meaningful way through the political process that is available to us. Will that make everyone happy? No. Is it the right thing to do? You bet. Educators and politics may be an unlikely match, but if we are to take back control of our own profession, it is one that is absolutely necessary.
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