Losing our focus

Today at 2:50 EST, many people stood silent in remembrance of the victims, the families and communities impacted by the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

I was surprised that nothing "official" was done by my school district.  The Governor of Massachusetts and the Mayor of Boston had called on the public to participate.  President Obama participated privately.

So - rather than asking for permission, I just organized my own moment of silence.  I told as many teachers as I could in our building to hold a moment of silence in their classes.

There isn't anything particularly malicious about the lack of "official" effort on the part of the school district.  Really, it is just a sin of omission.  But why?

The focus on testing, career and college-readiness, and so-called "achievement" has warped the purposes of school and public education.  Originally, schools were interested in producing good citizens rather than productive workers.

Our superintendents, administrators and school leaders have not deliberately ignored the people of Boston.  It is just that they are not paying attention.  Even a moment of silence doesn't fit into our scheme of "no interruptions" as we prepare for the all-important state test.

We have lost something as a nation.  We have lost our focus on molding good citizens who love their neighbors and love their country along with its history, laws and traditions.

Thank you and Congratulations!

The election for NEA Director was held on Sunday, April 21.  Lisa Kickbusch (Pattonville) was elected in a very close vote as the next NEA Director.  Congratulations to Lisa!  She will serve well the members of MNEA.

Thank you to Lisa and her team and to Frank and his team for a great campaign.  The tone of our campaign was great, all the materials were fun, and relationships were strengthened by the end.  I certainly appreciate your willingness to be part of the joint hospitality room.

Thank you to Julia Todd for suggesting and organizing the joint hospitality room.  Such a profound statement of unity as well as thriftiness!

Thank you to Regina Cooper for her service as the campaign treasurer.  We definitely learned as we went along.  I so appreciate her friendship and support.

Thank you to the members of Independence NEA for being such a support and inspiration to me.  My work with my local Association will be some of the proudest and important work on my life.

Thank you to the "Seed Planter."

And a final - but SO important - thank you to my wife, Stana.  Anything that I do is not possible without her.  She is passionate about the work of the Association as much as any of our members.

There is always the temptation to look back and think about what could have been different - especially when the vote is so close.  However, each campaign exists at a particular moment in time, within a certain context.  Candidates and voters make a variety of decisions - small and large - based on a whole range of information, attitudes, and assumptions.  Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong.  That is democracy for you.  I am pleased with the type of campaign that I ran and I hope my supporters are as well.    I am pleased with the campaigns of the other director candidates.

Some have said to me, "Maybe it will be for the best."  Yes - I agree that everything always - in the end - works out for the best.  BUT - I also believe that is the case when people make that happen themselves.  This will be for the best - because I will make it so.  Lisa has my complete support to make our Association and public education "something better" for Missouri educators, students and families.

Declaration of Independence (MNEA, 1973)

I have found myself reading this over and over and over again.  Every educator needs to take this to heart.  Please note that when it was written, membership in MNEA was not yet open to education support professionals.

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We are teachers in Missouri.  We care about our rights.  We care about what goes on in the classroom.

For too many years, we have felt helpless in our endeavors to fulfill our responsibilities as professional educators. There were always too few dollars, too many arbitrary and counterproductive rules and too many politicians making political decisions about education.

Teachers had virtually no influence on the politicians or the decisions.  Now, we seek to change that.  We ask only the opportunity to mobilize teachers for effective use of our collective power.  The uses of that power are the prerogative of the affected teacher group, whether it be local, state or national.

A new day has arrived for Missouri teachers.  From all areas of the state, we are declaring our independence from our old futility, from groups dominated by people who did not believe in the collective insistence of teachers on better schools, better salaries and better protection of teacher rights.

We make a dual pledge.  First, to the teacher of Missouri: that our new organization will be built on the principles of justice, participatory democracy and commitment to the highest quality of education.  Second, to the present and future parents of Missouri: that the results of our active and concerned teacher action will be manifold but will center on ending waste in school spending, increasing the quality of teaching and decreasing the depersonalization and overcrowding in Missouri schools.

Missouri schools aren’t doing the job.  There is no magic formula to change that, but we believe that classroom teachers, working together, are the best hope for worthwhile change.

Teachers of Missouri, join us.  Together we are not helpless.

We are at the beginning of a long journey for Missouri teachers and Missouri education.  We are sustained on this journey by our collective belief that something better is possible for Missouri, something better for teachers, something better for parents, and, most important, something better for students.

We declare our independence from the hopelessness of the past and look forward to the days, months and years of this new journey.