tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17197998068355114932024-03-04T20:26:24.308-08:00Blend MeRun away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-69002000640245032072021-07-07T13:52:00.000-07:002021-07-07T13:52:01.900-07:00Day 3 of the National Education Association 2021 Virtual Representative Assembly<p> We got started early again today because we had two important guests, and we had a lot of NBIs to complete. </p><p><br /></p><p>First, Becky presented the 2021 Teacher of the Year, Juliana Urtuby, who gave an inspiring speech. Then we heard the NEA Vice President, Princess Moss, address the assembly.</p><p>We went straight to Legislative Amendments, which were pretty straightforward.</p><p>One particularly motivating presentation was from the 2021 NEA Friend of Education, Judy Heumann, who was the first educator to push for New York City to allow educators in wheelchairs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7VmqfQS-XAuw0V1utWz_YRqoPhW_XHV6OY3bghmnYb3VQFUzCL6GwhufbNnznAS8wIx3ciPoYXTzS8zYULafZPN8ZFn474xxt-M3hhhSsxISB0I7Tdqk_Y2qnxNdSN0kBUvuw8y-_w8/s2048/Judy+Heumann+and+Becky+Pringle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7VmqfQS-XAuw0V1utWz_YRqoPhW_XHV6OY3bghmnYb3VQFUzCL6GwhufbNnznAS8wIx3ciPoYXTzS8zYULafZPN8ZFn474xxt-M3hhhSsxISB0I7Tdqk_Y2qnxNdSN0kBUvuw8y-_w8/s320/Judy+Heumann+and+Becky+Pringle.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judy Heumann and Becky Pringle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Ms. Heumann has dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of differently-abled educators, and she made a difference in the first thirty seconds of her interview with Becky Pringle because she started by describing how she looked on the screen so that those who were vision-impaired would know what everyone else was looking at. Becky said, "You have already taught me something, and I thank you," and she then also described herself on screen. As I listened to Ms. Heumann, I thought about Rich Clevidence, a Special Education teacher at Medina High School who was paraplegic. Rich was a very successful and influential teacher; his students loved him and would do anything for him. I think that Ms. Heumann's work made it possible for us to appreciate him as a teacher in a big, suburban school building.</p><p><br /></p><p>After some work on NBIs, we had a short break to prepare for our guests. . .President Joe Biden and FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden (who is a member of NEA)! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWdj03VkCDUj2tzf66DTg48Vfm5UZnK58IdQftPMAchFSqy4KqaxkURpVGRhgGruq3UAPmcz2NnINeNMdqnCav8WvAoZf0bMWP4n2XS0yLDhnrpqZvzmNy43vHnsNk2Jth8N6Cur2NkI/s2048/Jill+Biden.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWdj03VkCDUj2tzf66DTg48Vfm5UZnK58IdQftPMAchFSqy4KqaxkURpVGRhgGruq3UAPmcz2NnINeNMdqnCav8WvAoZf0bMWP4n2XS0yLDhnrpqZvzmNy43vHnsNk2Jth8N6Cur2NkI/s320/Jill+Biden.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Jill Biden</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Dr. Biden congratulated educators on our work during the pandemic. It is interesting to note that she shared the same stories of frustration with tech, trying to bond with students, and isolation that many of us experienced because she didn't stop working during the pandemic or when her husband became POTUS.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhGdWJIIMwRKgTuArcK6NkO93Yo_d8BEnqGI9jJH9nbpRB133tCNRaFdjtE8vsm2eXOW5bY9YHNIc-mxVHdZeLEMHEUWbzkBFx95eFIVfiMxeCPgkj0qCRCP1xpCKInmXsb98pLMqYy8/s2048/Joe+Biden.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhGdWJIIMwRKgTuArcK6NkO93Yo_d8BEnqGI9jJH9nbpRB133tCNRaFdjtE8vsm2eXOW5bY9YHNIc-mxVHdZeLEMHEUWbzkBFx95eFIVfiMxeCPgkj0qCRCP1xpCKInmXsb98pLMqYy8/s320/Joe+Biden.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Joe Biden talked about the importance of the American Relief Act, saying that his focus was to build up our society "from the middle out." He thanked us for teaching, and he said that Americans should now realize how important teachers are. He finished by saying that "[i]t's not enough to get back to normal. We need to build back better than ever," and that is why during his administration, the government will invest in counselors, social workers, nurses, and wraparound services in public schools.</p><p>It was a bit difficult to focus on NBIs after that, but we did until 8:20. Another loooonnnnggg day with the anticipation of a longer stretch the next day.</p><p>Up Next: The Last Day, NBIs, Bundling, Memes</p>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-90032121136457004932021-07-02T13:13:00.005-07:002021-07-02T13:28:53.640-07:00Day 2 National Association Virtual Representative Assembly<p> Today we got down to business a bit earlier than the previous day because we were excited about a guest speaker. . .</p><p><br /></p><p>We voted on 5 Policy Amendments and 6 New Business Items. When I look at these numbers, I feel like we didn't cover as many NBIs as we should have covered; however, there was some robust debate in the platform, and I think debate and questions are important. </p><p><br /></p><p>We congratulated the NEA Higher Educator of the Year, Julius B. Thomas, who is a guidance counselor at a community college. He spoke about the necessity of advocating for students who need community colleges.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then we got to see our highly anticipated guest speaker: Stacy Abrams!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLONOOWtx4_AI3swqDXbXx8nahRPiBntCLNZvGEqtpFjoJqdlLTKDDKNZadsb5Bd6nDp4SSp3yLAPsYv0_EFm9DMH_HbQocOae8HGHF2I1tJXRBY9ILfN8WWoErzQaqLxEMLNqAXB9sH4/s2048/Stacy+Abrams+Becky+Pringle.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLONOOWtx4_AI3swqDXbXx8nahRPiBntCLNZvGEqtpFjoJqdlLTKDDKNZadsb5Bd6nDp4SSp3yLAPsYv0_EFm9DMH_HbQocOae8HGHF2I1tJXRBY9ILfN8WWoErzQaqLxEMLNqAXB9sH4/w320-h180/Stacy+Abrams+Becky+Pringle.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NEA President Becky Pringle with Stacy Abrams</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I must admit that I fan-girled HARD during this interview. Stacy Abrams spoke with great intelligence and passion about our ability to stand together to fight for voting rights. She is a person who gets it done, and I admire her dedication and ability. </p><p><br /></p><p>We then heard a rousing speech from NEA Executive Director Kim A. Anderson, the first woman and person of color to serve in this capacity. She reminded us of our focus to fight racism and discrimination in our schools.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/styles/1920wide/public/2020-06/2019-KimAnders-podium-2508x1672.jpg?itok=Xqyz0I-X" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/styles/1920wide/public/2020-06/2019-KimAnders-podium-2508x1672.jpg?itok=Xqyz0I-X" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NEA Executive Director Kim A. Anderson</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The RA went until after 8:30, and I have to say that I was really exhausted. I think that waiting- for questions, for debate, for amendments, for voting, for speakers--is the hardest part of any RA. It seems easier to wait when you are in a huge convention hall with 9,999 of your best peeps. In my living room, while juggling laundry and prepping dinner, it definitely isn't as fun. I look forward to attending our next RA in person.</p><p><br /></p><p>NEXT: DAY 3 with 2 VERY IMPORTANT GUESTS</p>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-22853159527709437922021-07-01T15:24:00.004-07:002021-07-01T15:33:28.946-07:00Day 1 National Education Association 2021 Virtual Representative Assembly<p> </p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday, June 30, 2021, was the date of the first day of the NEA Representative Assembly. At 2:00 pm President Becky Pringle banged the gavel to begin the 159th meeting of the largest democratic, deliberative body in the world. </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We opened with a performance from our Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate. Her poetry was beautiful and dynamic, and I didn't take any notes or pictures because I was enthralled with her words and the way they floated from her mouth. It was a real fan moment for all of us. While we couldn't see her in person at a convention center, I really think I was better able to appreciate her performance by seeing her close up on the screen. She is amazing, 'nuff said.</span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d7bcd30b-7fff-adbd-75e1-047d040eeff5" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgDZudC4OmpmiF35gELxBwdLrqRn0TdzdcJNqHJHFvI8SAjA8fp4MTe9vKH1P3bK-b_d_tZBAilsr7xJwHl5RTgH1ju7JY54Y75OOdzcsSJ3_8FakQr3oFQK7avu_jn20Zq_Si3qZI-M/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="286" data-original-width="176" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgDZudC4OmpmiF35gELxBwdLrqRn0TdzdcJNqHJHFvI8SAjA8fp4MTe9vKH1P3bK-b_d_tZBAilsr7xJwHl5RTgH1ju7JY54Y75OOdzcsSJ3_8FakQr3oFQK7avu_jn20Zq_Si3qZI-M/w197-h320/image.png" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amanda Gorman at the Inauguration of President Joseph Biden</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">The Land Acknowledgement was performed by James Jones, known as Notorious Cree. He performed an incredible hoop dance to honor America's First People.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://libraryvisit.libnet.info/images/events/libraryvisit/IMG_4820.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://libraryvisit.libnet.info/images/events/libraryvisit/IMG_4820.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notorious Cree</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">We had the National Anthem and the invocation, and then we were ready to roll. Well, sort of ready to roll. This virtual platform was new to many of our delegates, who are often, ummm. . .technically challenged (see my previous post). The various choices on the page took some getting used to, and it took some practice for us to adopt the Standing Rules. Actually, it took a lot of practice and some tough love from Becky Pringle. My favorite line from her may be, "Delegates, I need you to HEAR me." This usually followed with some stern instructions about NOT touching buttons and screwing up the online queue. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Next we heard the President's address to the Assembly. Becky Pringle is a charismatic speaker, both in a large group setting and one on one. I met her a few years ago at the Representative Assembly in Houston, and she just EMANATES power. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCN9EHNmfECoJS1GvAoUIgcl86EgChLWmln6wSSebU6bQ47K-zDZACy0ygwIclFjFol7vI_tKEkdanTkHfVigT0h3a_rNUVUQDM0xlugVOFUMraBFylqeYLCtgwy_96d4FZFR0RZuFRBw/s2048/IMG_8043.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCN9EHNmfECoJS1GvAoUIgcl86EgChLWmln6wSSebU6bQ47K-zDZACy0ygwIclFjFol7vI_tKEkdanTkHfVigT0h3a_rNUVUQDM0xlugVOFUMraBFylqeYLCtgwy_96d4FZFR0RZuFRBw/s320/IMG_8043.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OEA President Scott DiMauro, Stephani, and NEA President Becky Pringle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Her speech emphasized the courage and creativity of educators during the pandemic, and it fired us up. Some snippets that resonated with me:</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">"We lead with love and teach from a place of conviction."</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">"We will make sure our kids have what they need and what they deserve."</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">After the speech, we were revved up to debate and vote on New Business Items. Once the delegates got used to the new platform, we worked pretty efficiently through 5 New Business Items. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">One takeaway from this virtual assembly: I really like the online voting. Normally at an assembly, we vote by voice, all ten thousand of us, and sometimes there is a call for division. Then we have to stand up and be counted. While it is very exciting, it is probably not the most efficient way to get things done. The online voting platform allows us to see the percentages for and against, and that eliminates calls of division. I hope that we find a way to continue this type of voting even while meeting face to face.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Gavel down came a bit late: 8:20 PM. By then I was ready for dinner and bed. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">After all, we still had two more days of the Representative Assembly to go!</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><br /></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" />Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-87052283337445531272021-06-30T12:47:00.001-07:002021-06-30T12:48:33.212-07:00Ohio Education Association Caucus Days 2 and 3On Tuesday, June 29, and Wednesday, June 30, the Ohio Education Association met for their second and third caucus days before the 2021 National Education Association Virtual Assembly. What happened to the first day, you ask? We did have it earlier in June, but it was more focused on procedures for using online apps to debate and vote, so I will focus on the more important meetings before the Representative Assembly.<div><br /></div><div>Usually the Ohio Caucus starts at 7:30 AM each day before the Assembly. This is where we look at New Business Items and vote on whether the Caucus supports or opposes each item. I was curious how we were going to be able to debate NBIs among over 200 delegates. Ironically, most teachers will acknowledge that we don't listen to instructions very well, and many of us still struggle with tech, even after the hellatious online year we have had. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.byterocky.net/_Media/image-3_med_hr.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="http://www.byterocky.net/_Media/image-3_med_hr.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual image of a teacher struggling with tech</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>We conducted our caucus through Zoom, and it went surprisingly well. Sure, there were people who kept unmuting themselves and gazing blankly at the screen. Sure, there were people who had trouble unmuting themselves. All in all, though, it really worked out as well as it could have without meeting face to face.</div><div><br /></div><div>We managed to debate and vote on the Ohio Caucus positions for at least 40 NBIs dealing with NEA's positions on school funding, students' rights and safety, educators' rights and safety, and even the use of technology in instruction. It wasn't fun, but it was functional.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you to the OEA Leadership: President Scott DiMauro, Vice President Jeff Wensing, and Secretary-Treasurer Mark Hill. Their guidance, as well as the work of their staff, created a smooth and productive meeting. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1364710493135532033/TBMK7Zpn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="399" height="200" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1364710493135532033/TBMK7Zpn.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OEA President Scott DiMauro</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ohea.org/cms/assets/uploads/2021/02/Jeff-Wensing-Feb2021-140x140.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="140" height="202" src="https://www.ohea.org/cms/assets/uploads/2021/02/Jeff-Wensing-Feb2021-140x140.png" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OEA Vice President Jeff Wensing</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ohea.org/cms/assets/uploads/2018/05/05.11.2018-Mark-Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="335" height="200" src="https://www.ohea.org/cms/assets/uploads/2018/05/05.11.2018-Mark-Hill.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OEA Secretary-Treasurer Mark Hill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Up Next: 2021 National Education Association Virtual Representative Assembly Day 1</div>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-2565171240188030552019-12-09T16:26:00.000-08:002019-12-09T16:52:17.529-08:00Ohio Education Association Representative AssemblyOn Saturday, December 7, Medina Delegates David Hamman, Katie Shaffer, Bradley Dalzell, Ed Dargay, Rob Thompson, Austin Argabright, Tricia Schuck, Laina Makepeace, and Stephani Itibrout represented MCTA at the Ohio Education Association Representative Assembly at the Columbus Fairgrounds. It was a long day with a long drive, but it was definitely worthwhile.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQG5B1dT7RzijPphkm02DeDe7-m6CFmXk1WR7bvBngqIgX-MxOuhFd8E3KPFQSFFMP3rtOoDakvW5DahM7u6VgVF9xPqpUKz7Im6a1JPlzSzbH_RlGtJPYlTbjI2trSf7HmvWiUdOY0/s1600/Delegates+2019+OEA+RA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQG5B1dT7RzijPphkm02DeDe7-m6CFmXk1WR7bvBngqIgX-MxOuhFd8E3KPFQSFFMP3rtOoDakvW5DahM7u6VgVF9xPqpUKz7Im6a1JPlzSzbH_RlGtJPYlTbjI2trSf7HmvWiUdOY0/s320/Delegates+2019+OEA+RA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MCTA Delegates hard at work</td></tr>
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The Rittman High School Steel Drum Band greeted us as we entered.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6oLktsFRAuo" width="560"></iframe><br />
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At 9:00, President Scott DiMauro opened the Assembly with the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and an invocation. Then we quickly got down to business.<br />
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This was an exciting RA because the guest speaker was the President of the National Education Association, Lily Eskelsen Garcia. I admire Lily so much because she is smart and strong and powerful. She is also a dynamic speaker, and her message to rally to bring about change through the upcoming elections was meaningful.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i2.wp.com/lilysblackboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lb_about-lily-bus_375x276_01.jpg?w=375" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="375" height="235" src="https://i2.wp.com/lilysblackboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lb_about-lily-bus_375x276_01.jpg?w=375" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia</td></tr>
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Lily spent much of her time showing us NEA's webpage devoted to candidates for the election, <a href="https://educationvotes.nea.org/"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Education Votes</span></b></a>. The site is very useful in its presentation of information. One of the best tools on the site (in my opinion) is the Candidate Comparison, which allows you to pick any of the current Presidential candidates (Democrat and Republican) and match their platforms on current issues. Lily has also posted interviews with some of the candidates, and she plans to continue to interview candidates with questions that we can post on that site. So cool.<br />
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In addition, NEA has a form you can complete if you are interested in becoming a delegate to either the Democratic or Republican convention. If you are interested, NEA will pass that information on to the Ohio Education Association, who will actively work with you to help you become a delegate. Lily's goal is to make education a top issue in the upcoming election, and I think she is making the right moves to make that happen.<br />
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After Lily's inspirational speech, OEA held a legislative panel consisting of two Republicans and two Democrats who spoke about current legislation to reduce excessive state testing, eliminate value added measurements, and repeal state takeovers of schools.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcLdLcPRaZuS7kC_3URg4Ulx3Cx2nzAy-455sGQx3UqIdcVGrdhJk1oToWZJkDK2XCRMQzXRToa5pvpYK8XkTYo24K-k761nnE1jXFbmS3bSwDsGvL3DPvurxJfggCJx83X1GrstiPz4/s1600/Legislative+Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcLdLcPRaZuS7kC_3URg4Ulx3Cx2nzAy-455sGQx3UqIdcVGrdhJk1oToWZJkDK2XCRMQzXRToa5pvpYK8XkTYo24K-k761nnE1jXFbmS3bSwDsGvL3DPvurxJfggCJx83X1GrstiPz4/s320/Legislative+Panel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think that many union members don't think about what their state and national unions do for them. Today's Representative Assembly showed me that OEA and NEA are working hard for the well being of teachers and students. Another example of this was <a href="https://www.ohea.org/oea-calls-for-sweeping-changes-to-state-report-cards/?fbclid=IwAR2avDtyf6HUqo3_h3zfwqXw50C2YoYZLnnScFLfEYyOoKCbzA84JnREzkk"><b><span style="font-size: large;">OEA's stand against state report cards, which you can read here</span></b></a>.<br />
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Regardless of your political affiliation, you can find great information on both OEA's and NEA's web pages. It's important for all of us to educate ourselves on current events so that we can more effectively advocate for our students. It all can start with just a few clicks. . .<br />
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<br />Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-91732720977461749982019-08-04T13:50:00.000-07:002019-10-10T11:15:34.742-07:00National Education Representative Assembly 2019 Recap: Post 3<i style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">From July 3-7, 2019, Medina Delegates Bradley Dalzell, Katie Shaffer, and Stephani Itibrout attended the 2019 National Education Association Representative Assembly in Houston, Texas. The NEA is the largest labor organization in the United States, and we had about 9,000 people there to prove it. You can read the first and second post by clicking </span><a href="https://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2019/07/national-education-association.html"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span style="color: #666666;"> and </span><a href="https://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2019/07/national-education-association_22.html"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span style="color: #666666;">. </span></b></i><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Today's post is about one of the most exciting days of the RA: the Presidential Candidates Forum. Our NEA President, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, had extended invitations to any candidate to talk to our Assembly. Ten Democrats responded to her invitation, and we were able to hear from all of them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">There were strict rules to follow, and just about every speaker tried to break them, but Lily doesn't put up with that, so it was great to see that we stayed on schedule. First, the candidate had one minute to say whatever she/he wanted. Then, the candidate had to respond to three questions from our members, and she/he had three minutes per question. Ten minutes per candidate= one hour, forty minutes away from New Business Items (which we had to complete by the end of the RA), so it was very important to keep to the time limits. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Here is a video of the candidates' speeches and responses to members' questions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We heard from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Beto O'Rourke, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Ryan (from Ohio!), Jay Inslee, Bill DeBlasio, and Kamala Harris. <a href="http://neatoday.org/2019/07/05/nea-presidential-forum/"><span style="color: blue;">Click here</span></a> for a recap from the <i>NEAToday</i> Page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are some of my takes from the forum (These are my opinions, and they do not reflect the opinions of my union or my employer):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1. All candidates spoke pretty well considering the time constraint. It isn't easy to stick to one minute for your platform.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2. Bernie Sanders was the first to speak, and he tried to go over the time limit, even after Lily explained the rules. He said, "Can I say just one more thing?" and she responded, "No, sorry," and escorted him offstage. He wasn't the only one who tried, and Lily's strategy was that when a candidate reached the time limit, we would all clap very loudly to let him/her know that time was up. They all got the hint right away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3. The floor of the RA looked great! We were all dressed in red to how the #RedforEd movement, and we all had clappers. We were a pretty enthusiastic bunch, with lots of cheering and ovations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4. There were a few boos. Beto O'Rourke thought it was appropriate to mention that he supports charter schools. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">5. Kamala Harris was the last to speak, and she almost didn't make it. She was flying in at the very last minute, and her car got stuck in traffic, so she jumped out of it and ran through the huge convention hall to the stage. She was completely out of breath, and I'm pretty sure it threw her off since she didn't really have time to recover. She was still good, though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was happy to hear from all the candidates at one time because it definitely gave me a firm idea of where they stand and what I would like to research further. It was incredibly exciting to be in that forum, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you followed our journey at the RA in Boston, you will know that I stalked Lily Eskelsen Garcia until I could get her picture because I admire her so much.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WBp_M1J6sJhPOLC1bzbU6L0HLulTC0a_9sOL0dUw3XmMQmt06FHt5P7Laqpe0bK08l-VenkDy6MDVAzLOKkMDDaFGa5GLGLMekXwM9D4VyH9VRmLG9cz7HdyrAi10QINHp-BoBnGFmM/s1600/IMG_5063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WBp_M1J6sJhPOLC1bzbU6L0HLulTC0a_9sOL0dUw3XmMQmt06FHt5P7Laqpe0bK08l-VenkDy6MDVAzLOKkMDDaFGa5GLGLMekXwM9D4VyH9VRmLG9cz7HdyrAi10QINHp-BoBnGFmM/s320/IMG_5063.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boston 2017</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Another person I greatly admire is our NEA Vice President, Becky Pringle. I made it my mission to get a picture with her this year. To that end, I bugged our Ohio VP (now our President!) to introduce me, and he came through!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxgLJmrALQ0qcQJVqhIjeHWXY3rkoGkhJTlm5Q5TplGIMbhwO-gAEOnk6pFo_f0i2YLtGFFxOm6evhyNjOintCyH5gRQiY5PFRa7NGd8I2kvTqGQBGgu3GsWgB9J9ElOGTD5Bx_36W9Y/s1600/IMG_8043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxgLJmrALQ0qcQJVqhIjeHWXY3rkoGkhJTlm5Q5TplGIMbhwO-gAEOnk6pFo_f0i2YLtGFFxOm6evhyNjOintCyH5gRQiY5PFRa7NGd8I2kvTqGQBGgu3GsWgB9J9ElOGTD5Bx_36W9Y/s400/IMG_8043.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott DiMauro, Me, Becky Pringle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here is something else I enjoyed about the Assembly: I wrote in an earlier post that I was on the Communications Committee. What that meant was that I carried cards around our part of the RA floor that reminded members how we voted on New Business Items in our morning caucus. It was a fun job because I got to walk around rather than sit on my butt during voting. It was also tricky because I had to pay attention to our leaders, who were following new language when Items were amended. Often they had to decide quickly on whether the amended language reflected the feeling of our vote in caucus, and then they gave me a signal on which card to carry around. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Tgna81TAVXt5wuhYwbg1E2Dp8qZLVi5E860SfZ6uAV2VUdMLWy6l4fUgmaKi8uRga53WI3QKG0fkdKCtQELqLY5W-2eKu9ht3lhvI_iW3PzipoFB7l3oRhTQFz8la4cbBoykdTDOnGI/s1600/IMG_7931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Tgna81TAVXt5wuhYwbg1E2Dp8qZLVi5E860SfZ6uAV2VUdMLWy6l4fUgmaKi8uRga53WI3QKG0fkdKCtQELqLY5W-2eKu9ht3lhvI_iW3PzipoFB7l3oRhTQFz8la4cbBoykdTDOnGI/s320/IMG_7931.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the cards used to notify the members.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek-KvsRGP7mknyOSoT8ZtdBE8eyo28Jd2tPSeHn8NlTX-xGc10PV4hLIUuDwMMvPGtGNuPzwSZ5lJVaIqmDiFurMw_xnl72vaTvetaoz0balZw44e50rYRSzzOWKbqJOAG7xkUBFlwao/s1600/IMG_7932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek-KvsRGP7mknyOSoT8ZtdBE8eyo28Jd2tPSeHn8NlTX-xGc10PV4hLIUuDwMMvPGtGNuPzwSZ5lJVaIqmDiFurMw_xnl72vaTvetaoz0balZw44e50rYRSzzOWKbqJOAG7xkUBFlwao/s320/IMG_7932.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am informing the Ohio members that our leadership recommends voting down an amendment. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There were a LOT of New Business Items, more than 140 of them. We lost quite a bit of time with our Candidates Forum (which was of course totally worth it), so we were all a bit nervous about how we were going to finish the voting before the end of the Assembly. On the last day we had a ton of NBIs still left.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXCDTR1KjHHOC3zLccyrBFHL97fa59lahqjOp_AfubTBcBnf7MnV7JNIv14nEOeWZN0_0jijB3AW-i52LXDopCGn3RcMpvUaJRGYPwuRVaTVFLi8JdRzBf8lYkHjpUpJpMQBWR_U6juc/s1600/IMG_8047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXCDTR1KjHHOC3zLccyrBFHL97fa59lahqjOp_AfubTBcBnf7MnV7JNIv14nEOeWZN0_0jijB3AW-i52LXDopCGn3RcMpvUaJRGYPwuRVaTVFLi8JdRzBf8lYkHjpUpJpMQBWR_U6juc/s320/IMG_8047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face you make when you think you will be there forever because there are a bunch of NBIs left.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We did manage to get bogged down for a while in Points of Information and some stubborn insistence of bringing back NBIs we had already rejected. Then Lily woke us up a bit, and we were able to be more efficient. We finished all NBIs this year with a gavel down well before the deadline!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGbMl7WPWPckovMNEbw8VwnFa8v4F25vF-cywVY9eyE9a4nvRkAfk4fYB_5FHXxNlaggjANJdATiCsiofamQfYFhkplGWTsyxG-xsZ9eV_mImVBvqoah19KmbVtPuHV_dCB_d3SaSAxk/s1600/IMG_8049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGbMl7WPWPckovMNEbw8VwnFa8v4F25vF-cywVY9eyE9a4nvRkAfk4fYB_5FHXxNlaggjANJdATiCsiofamQfYFhkplGWTsyxG-xsZ9eV_mImVBvqoah19KmbVtPuHV_dCB_d3SaSAxk/s320/IMG_8049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face you make when you realize that you are going to finish in time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All in all, it was an exhausting but fun--and definitely productive--time at the National Education Association 2019 Representative Assembly. I am so grateful to my local, Medina City Teachers Association, for sending me as one of our delegates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like what you read? Follow us @MedinaTeachers on Twitter and like us on Facebook!</span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-32272961661524501852019-07-22T16:18:00.000-07:002019-07-22T16:18:08.847-07:00National Education Association Representative Assembly 2019: Post 2<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>From July 3-7, 2019, Medina Delegates Bradley Dalzell, Katie Shaffer, and Stephani Itibrout attended the 2019 National Education Association Representative Assembly in Houston, Texas. The NEA is the largest labor organization in the United States, and we had about 9,000 people there to prove it.</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I would like to write about fundraising. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Union dues do not go towards any sort of political activity, but union activity is often very political. I have served on committees that have recommended policies to legislators. The NEA has a separate, voluntary donation program that goes toward legislative policy; it is called the Fund for Children and Public Education (FCPE). To give you an idea of its importance, the FCPE in Ohio was instrumental in reducing arduous and </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">repetitive requirements for New Educators. Also, FCPE helps the OEA to inform legislators of the dangers of unnecessary testing. Charter school regulation? FCPE is working on that. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Anyway, fund-raising for FCPE at the Representative Assemblies is very important, and at the NEA RA, it can get very creative. One of the fun fund-raising activities for FCPE involves forcing our union leaders to do silly things in public. This year it started with hats. The FCPE auctioneer took bids on forcing members to wear Texas-inspired hats during important moments of the RA. The members targeted are then allowed to outbid in order to give the hat to someone else. There was some heavy bidding this year, but many members combined funds in order to keep the humiliation within the leaders. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: small; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkoUs3ljJTBJKhyTkNULpDbTY085PbwPg7HR83IfbsiBPIMh70NhyPNwmj3JqT-j_zW4TxNoEGR4Vhk-M9XTJa2bPXODm4IauZh1ad8257GHcCUVUh-9sJX-8UZCSVScxYWEi3xXwyJI/s1600/IMG_8021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkoUs3ljJTBJKhyTkNULpDbTY085PbwPg7HR83IfbsiBPIMh70NhyPNwmj3JqT-j_zW4TxNoEGR4Vhk-M9XTJa2bPXODm4IauZh1ad8257GHcCUVUh-9sJX-8UZCSVScxYWEi3xXwyJI/s320/IMG_8021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left: Treasurer Mark Hill, VP Scott DiMauro, and Pres. Becky Higgins are wearing weird hats. Daniel Boone? I don't know. Members donated to FCPE to make them wear these hats on the floor of the RA.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our Vice-President-Elect, Jeff Wensing, gets picked on every year. I swear I have nothing to do with it:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88TF5-WFq3c0ADK2QBUBmG2xr1L-_MuzdcVxyimyYVqt0iCojlKV11CQwjHm8vOf1-yHbUXmT6HRmWS83Jjw9ZHQidnWL6-m3Hcs0fovvEcz-lET35k67uHfJXY1HKLo7D2omy2y8XzM/s1600/IMG_8022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88TF5-WFq3c0ADK2QBUBmG2xr1L-_MuzdcVxyimyYVqt0iCojlKV11CQwjHm8vOf1-yHbUXmT6HRmWS83Jjw9ZHQidnWL6-m3Hcs0fovvEcz-lET35k67uHfJXY1HKLo7D2omy2y8XzM/s320/IMG_8022.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The best part was when members pooled their funds to make Darryl wear an astronaut suit on the floor of the Assembly. He was an incredibly good sport about it, and he even got memed on Twitter because he was sitting right by a camera:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwBtwJAlOPLNOpJ-zXSX6khpcBWxuNCUaWQ-GAU5ChD-pBu3g6IZY8MCG3cUKa0_amQrHZW_33Oc4ZK7vDLg5Q-k3DaEoScewEZnbE95X7WwprmUHg-2jyIi7TBGgClx2kDiVT3Yqbf4/s1600/2019+RA+Astronaut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwBtwJAlOPLNOpJ-zXSX6khpcBWxuNCUaWQ-GAU5ChD-pBu3g6IZY8MCG3cUKa0_amQrHZW_33Oc4ZK7vDLg5Q-k3DaEoScewEZnbE95X7WwprmUHg-2jyIi7TBGgClx2kDiVT3Yqbf4/s320/2019+RA+Astronaut.png" width="179" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We also raised money for the Houston food bank. Darryl played an important role in this because he allowed anyone at the RA to take a picture with him if they donated to the Houston food bank. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We also collected money by playing Bingo during the RA. If you have ever attended a staff or faculty meeting, you know how this works. The bingo card has a list of "buzz words" or even people, and when you can make a bingo with the events of the RA, you win money or prizes. We bought bingo cards each day for two dollars, and that money also went to the Houston food bank. The cards were VERY popular. I got a bingo, but it was too late for money; I won candy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCXLWrvjY8SXWEisyCSfvfSyz70xa8Dw9PDPLAgiC8IgyUOXvE5liGdBMVDD_rRysWGz2dxaiYx21wVXkfMw3mlLDV4LDa50xnUeQrR8jiH-N5AbDzab5KXf1VsGdlh1ey3WWyJClSL4/s1600/IMG_7930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCXLWrvjY8SXWEisyCSfvfSyz70xa8Dw9PDPLAgiC8IgyUOXvE5liGdBMVDD_rRysWGz2dxaiYx21wVXkfMw3mlLDV4LDa50xnUeQrR8jiH-N5AbDzab5KXf1VsGdlh1ey3WWyJClSL4/s320/IMG_7930.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I can't write a blog post without a picture of the Medina Delegates. Here we are, excited about our place on the Representative Assembly floor:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw6vLMrVbzEx0i8iVy5_JpK_BnGMOGNi006UUF-Xs4LgAp0vH5JpwWetJZkFx62DgSMSuUoxDC1amSFobSxdzW3E7m3oRT-wRh2ZaTSdNVaFO30Og3gLqhr-v92mS6kJ2CNwyqt_3MqE/s1600/IMG_7921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxw6vLMrVbzEx0i8iVy5_JpK_BnGMOGNi006UUF-Xs4LgAp0vH5JpwWetJZkFx62DgSMSuUoxDC1amSFobSxdzW3E7m3oRT-wRh2ZaTSdNVaFO30Og3gLqhr-v92mS6kJ2CNwyqt_3MqE/s320/IMG_7921.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ohio has a large delegation. It is really exciting to be a part of that. Here is a picture of all of us:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JCbU88558Wq3H_y93UMVFMlGDZAL7uDms_CJRo_JyUeNVKP7ut117A2toLB172xdpxQBT-PPmrIVGzpFNVos47BIl3CGEyI-yni3zgwW6HodHiEEViihBiqEPiOCbfxoUJJsnZY3QcQ/s1600/OEA+2019+NEARA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JCbU88558Wq3H_y93UMVFMlGDZAL7uDms_CJRo_JyUeNVKP7ut117A2toLB172xdpxQBT-PPmrIVGzpFNVos47BIl3CGEyI-yni3zgwW6HodHiEEViihBiqEPiOCbfxoUJJsnZY3QcQ/s320/OEA+2019+NEARA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To give you an idea of the importance of presence at the RA, I will tell you an anecdote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There was a hugely-debated New Business Item on the floor of the RA (there are many, so I don't remember which one this was--sorry). We had many votes on many amendments to this NBI, but we just couldn't settle it. Then it came time for Ohio to leave the RA floor to vote for NEA Directors, so all of us stood up at once. Immediately, delegates from other states started screaming, "Ohio! DON'T LEAVE! STAY FOR OUR VOTE!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I often tell people that I am a geek for Parliamentary Procedure. It must be true because I get chills whenever I think of that moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think this is enough for Post #2 of the NEA RA. Don't worry; I still have lots more information to share. Specifically, stay with me to read about the presentations of ten Democratic candidates!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Like what you read? Do you support public education? Follow Medina Teachers on Twitter and Facebook.</span></div>
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</span></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-35547422584272222652019-07-11T11:53:00.000-07:002019-07-11T11:57:21.258-07:00National Education Association Representative Assembly 2019From July 3-7, 2019, Medina Delegates Bradley Dalzell, Katie Shaffer, and Stephani Itibrout attended the 2019 National Education Association Representative Assembly in Houston, Texas. The NEA is the largest labor organization in the United States, and we had about 9,000 people there to prove it.<br />
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As usual, Katie, Bradley, and I had to get our airport selfie when we left.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPp-KWM3RHl91xM4VAzo2IXvmoYV4atccYsddoQEl-cBy0aFddKz5kmXj3hbR6ddG2dUVf1dL46TXg_Kcf7yLinjnsWj6RrLIv5vgKwuHQtv1kYrb8tCQMUG3ScuoG8WbsBnuv9lEyuIw/s1600/IMG_7898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPp-KWM3RHl91xM4VAzo2IXvmoYV4atccYsddoQEl-cBy0aFddKz5kmXj3hbR6ddG2dUVf1dL46TXg_Kcf7yLinjnsWj6RrLIv5vgKwuHQtv1kYrb8tCQMUG3ScuoG8WbsBnuv9lEyuIw/s320/IMG_7898.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We arrived in Houston just in time to register for the Assembly, change, and go to our Ohio Night Celebration. This was an opportunity to talk with delegates from other school districts. For me it was another photo opportunity, of course:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VHrWoxVtVCoy6-HymTZlPam6L4COe-YP_7WPiyUKHQoBilCI0K-KM9DuZLxe8kmS4xX0-CdiPBiup0SjZe2OTchwuH5-90sNcU_rpK4MXlxYvmQOsNBf1L-6s-8miK6_WmOmSLwXsQA/s1600/IMG_7899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VHrWoxVtVCoy6-HymTZlPam6L4COe-YP_7WPiyUKHQoBilCI0K-KM9DuZLxe8kmS4xX0-CdiPBiup0SjZe2OTchwuH5-90sNcU_rpK4MXlxYvmQOsNBf1L-6s-8miK6_WmOmSLwXsQA/s320/IMG_7899.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sue Messinger, President of Parma Educators Association</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEetDQqzEtYCKDCQoJWUnru-I6EbLtSG7xCAroKfzKS2mM31-NWE_L_EvV9qB06xEJQZCEILkgU-Fx8CSRQAhCq2G-7GEj70YRtCXcUnaKMtvpzjYMHUa2SF3QX4uLt24zGFc0fblJ_bI/s1600/IMG_7900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEetDQqzEtYCKDCQoJWUnru-I6EbLtSG7xCAroKfzKS2mM31-NWE_L_EvV9qB06xEJQZCEILkgU-Fx8CSRQAhCq2G-7GEj70YRtCXcUnaKMtvpzjYMHUa2SF3QX4uLt24zGFc0fblJ_bI/s320/IMG_7900.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott DiMauro, Vice President and President-Elect of Ohio Education Association</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcEQYFxQMxHyACMGKu_oeGbFiW0dyC2kpROFm_6XlDHEEQDlMZ9H6zLqPL3Q-dhhBRlAaw3zZwDO421OkQyyWmvdYtvuvacQ5gcOShKgLPzwt-3wdRpH8PpNpWxeY2Iz3cRtvzonsoM4/s1600/IMG_7901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcEQYFxQMxHyACMGKu_oeGbFiW0dyC2kpROFm_6XlDHEEQDlMZ9H6zLqPL3Q-dhhBRlAaw3zZwDO421OkQyyWmvdYtvuvacQ5gcOShKgLPzwt-3wdRpH8PpNpWxeY2Iz3cRtvzonsoM4/s320/IMG_7901.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Alice Conkey, Executive Director of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association</td></tr>
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Between the traveling and the excitement of networking, we were all ready to call it a day relatively early so that we could be fresh for our morning caucuses for both OEA and NEOEA.<br />
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I volunteered for two committees this year: The Communications Committee and the Elections Committee. I'll describe our roles in the Assembly later in this blog.<br />
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I woke up at 4:45 AM to get in a run in downtown Houston. I wanted to run the trail by the river, but there were police blocking the trail who told me that I should stick to running downtown, so I did just that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBEQjFPpz502qVpPNtm0fHvYiKrKXWp-UOXOxy5hngkuMX7vnlAkZeWyaLIBCXIMkhsDCQM4fGHUD08d-1v55EXxwlCg5m13PUIPAyPUCWWK2ivfTvuNZCbgN9il8TXfePhjpQMdgppA/s1600/IMG_7904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBEQjFPpz502qVpPNtm0fHvYiKrKXWp-UOXOxy5hngkuMX7vnlAkZeWyaLIBCXIMkhsDCQM4fGHUD08d-1v55EXxwlCg5m13PUIPAyPUCWWK2ivfTvuNZCbgN9il8TXfePhjpQMdgppA/s320/IMG_7904.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My morning run</td></tr>
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During our Ohio Caucus, we listened to campaign speeches for candidates for the NEA Directors. We also discussed campaign strategy for our own candidate, Andrea Beeman. Katie, Bradley, and I volunteered to be a part of the Scream Team, which meant we passed out campaign literature and chanted for Andrea in the Convention Center for about an hour and a half on election day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuTeYDJxWIIqL0ptkO9ueDMLvtZgON1tSD3IMUY44ARRSUCC0VE18WJqB00ab8uqosMBybUKvcHxwSixLunznzSTGfBUscdW9uB2C7N8vQqXY6EBMT3o-KGEIpLLIbEnBcrgVrUpZlN4/s1600/IMG_8023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuTeYDJxWIIqL0ptkO9ueDMLvtZgON1tSD3IMUY44ARRSUCC0VE18WJqB00ab8uqosMBybUKvcHxwSixLunznzSTGfBUscdW9uB2C7N8vQqXY6EBMT3o-KGEIpLLIbEnBcrgVrUpZlN4/s320/IMG_8023.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We are screamin'! Vote for Beeman!"<br />
John, Bradley, Me, Terry, Katie</td></tr>
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As a member of the OEA Elections Committee, I had to be an Observer, which at first meant I just directed people to the ballot boxes, made sure there were enough pencils, and told voters not to fold their ballots. Then, when the ballot boxes were transferred to be counted, we had to watch the counting process and collectively solve problems for any situations that might arise. The ballots are scanned and counted electronically; it looks like you are running them through a mini-printer. Sometimes the machine spits back a ballot--for example, a bubble wasn't dark enough--and the committee decides whether the bubble was actually blackened or not. There were no real problems with the ballots, so counting was pretty uneventful but instructive. <br />
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Our reward for a long day of work was a group outing to The Truckyard, a restaurant/music venue that rotates in food trucks and has all kinds of music and fun. I ate some amazing duck sliders and resisted the urge to ride the mini ferris wheel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoTUWbwXlVof7MOXUpX2bGqRxAkp5xImTRjSUhkYdypAe-dSU4HVAjFqPms9ip9ljohfOYXNOEFA-A1QVukjc7SfPm0z9XsgSjZalAbTmw7l8KTzM-YoCRn4qleV90xEzoARWzKYKy_w/s1600/IMG_7907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoTUWbwXlVof7MOXUpX2bGqRxAkp5xImTRjSUhkYdypAe-dSU4HVAjFqPms9ip9ljohfOYXNOEFA-A1QVukjc7SfPm0z9XsgSjZalAbTmw7l8KTzM-YoCRn4qleV90xEzoARWzKYKy_w/s320/IMG_7907.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, Bradley and I enjoyed our sandwiches!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9G8chcvhHJkN_4OvoynlKHWvVjy63tuII2qAUgP0Q_ThgO4HaZYzZ0AtMweCIRqDCRcIw3a9R4il5nWQi4cUHcR0pqReqpOs5T493_BQ0Ch85txf1thNS413W9Trb1YtYF_IqOJz3LM/s1600/IMG_7911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9G8chcvhHJkN_4OvoynlKHWvVjy63tuII2qAUgP0Q_ThgO4HaZYzZ0AtMweCIRqDCRcIw3a9R4il5nWQi4cUHcR0pqReqpOs5T493_BQ0Ch85txf1thNS413W9Trb1YtYF_IqOJz3LM/s320/IMG_7911.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then we moved on to Axelrad, an outdoor music venue where the main seating is hammocks! Hammocks everywhere! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fellow NEOEA Delegates</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chillaxin' at Axelrad</td></tr>
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Want to read more about the NEA RA? Want to know about Caucus voting, fundraising, and BS Bingo? Maybe you might like to read about 10 Democratic Presidential Candidates who spoke to us? If so, continue to follow our journey. Stay tuned for our next post.<br />
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Like what you read? Follow Medina Teachers Association on Twitter and Facebook!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-19206356714487330252019-05-12T12:56:00.000-07:002019-05-12T17:36:27.924-07:002019 Ohio Education Association Representative AssemblyOn Friday, May 10, nine delegates from Medina City Teachers Association attended Day 1 of the Ohio Education Association Representative Assembly. Our task was an important one: advocate for our colleagues and students by voting for our leaders and debating and voting on policy. <br />
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We arrived on Thursday for our registration and networking, where we attended an election event for Jeff Wensing, who was running for the position of Vice President of OEA. Of course you realize that I can't resist a good selfie, so I'm warning you right now that there will be plenty of them. See if you recognize anyone.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5C_aK9JvLyRBusbc-ZhplHgjPPq_LCqTzt9Sm4kv8MM7f57sB8_quHjPHTcctstOBhhyphenhyphenzVFbbo1uqeiLnPhYNfExIihpFrL6QP5sjOtFZ0-Gxi_YAWix0wFlQBGPR7Czx-7Kk04KUOsM/s1600/IMG_7643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5C_aK9JvLyRBusbc-ZhplHgjPPq_LCqTzt9Sm4kv8MM7f57sB8_quHjPHTcctstOBhhyphenhyphenzVFbbo1uqeiLnPhYNfExIihpFrL6QP5sjOtFZ0-Gxi_YAWix0wFlQBGPR7Czx-7Kk04KUOsM/s320/IMG_7643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Wensing, former President of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NaFHQgq1eE4DDYRxKbiD7M4jiwm9OZK8m0s4Tng_IT7KbqRJblzy4lGdDlGXUpU0zA45ra0r-zUlomvWRsu2kpqbuUg6ShUtpVC_SzPJQXNERWDsNB1ADD9nptdwyEveZGdfNXEBW2Y/s1600/IMG_7644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NaFHQgq1eE4DDYRxKbiD7M4jiwm9OZK8m0s4Tng_IT7KbqRJblzy4lGdDlGXUpU0zA45ra0r-zUlomvWRsu2kpqbuUg6ShUtpVC_SzPJQXNERWDsNB1ADD9nptdwyEveZGdfNXEBW2Y/s320/IMG_7644.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Alice Conkey, Executive Director of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association</td></tr>
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On Friday, we started bright and early at the Columbus Convention Center with introduction ceremonies and candidates' speeches.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn0Sm_OxZ9W9i4Np2ti5DWDzcmAXcM57I0FlO1yV6DiaMQB-VaMDgs4Y0BPkOEZwVmCIPGCHCzI3wDnkLzK0xey10I9gRgGqXmCzkEyOtVXzEv7wr7F1WG1vdbTAU-nsFMqBWqVcPvvk/s1600/IMG_7682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn0Sm_OxZ9W9i4Np2ti5DWDzcmAXcM57I0FlO1yV6DiaMQB-VaMDgs4Y0BPkOEZwVmCIPGCHCzI3wDnkLzK0xey10I9gRgGqXmCzkEyOtVXzEv7wr7F1WG1vdbTAU-nsFMqBWqVcPvvk/s320/IMG_7682.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Hamman, President of Medina Teachers Education Association</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRgVGE5UW8QJ8cFjQkr1AhZ_d_DFcKUCiOvp7iQ6LZETyC4wVFIwfeLQpyPB7Fc3SNJLxpY54pACY_MR4EaTDUbXDcdEahOEzg47yO8cs7ZqhZHJ7rPcJhCHMgt3HoVA-j3clBKyZS3c/s1600/IMG_7683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRgVGE5UW8QJ8cFjQkr1AhZ_d_DFcKUCiOvp7iQ6LZETyC4wVFIwfeLQpyPB7Fc3SNJLxpY54pACY_MR4EaTDUbXDcdEahOEzg47yO8cs7ZqhZHJ7rPcJhCHMgt3HoVA-j3clBKyZS3c/s320/IMG_7683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob Thompson, who is apparently part of the Witness Protection Program, and Laina Makepeace, Treasurer of MCTA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mO7Y0cIs1-PbRc89SyfTmJcLX3frhAcm1dyFLgHS_F5HIL6sCtdHR9Kq9Nd66g2mHyryYZlHUpgNxoW-vN0aL6GF-oQFgdyM9uCt0-uYYI-McL7qUR_UJId30VI4AvsdXltjIFsX-3Q/s1600/IMG_7684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mO7Y0cIs1-PbRc89SyfTmJcLX3frhAcm1dyFLgHS_F5HIL6sCtdHR9Kq9Nd66g2mHyryYZlHUpgNxoW-vN0aL6GF-oQFgdyM9uCt0-uYYI-McL7qUR_UJId30VI4AvsdXltjIFsX-3Q/s320/IMG_7684.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medina Delegates: Rob, Laina, Lori Berger, Katie Shaffer, Bradley Dalzell, Ed Dargay, Sherri Hufford, David Hamman</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV8blXbzitwS-s-r1DiI_SakQjV37yNfb_YzAn816TUEIqk26heqQHckfGkLuIF1ETJuvymedU8Taqysmq1ClXIn85WLHSA4DntktIaclfHFpHncLVxpPfVhsQc8jYMDL-MjKIh9ifcA/s1600/IMG_7691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV8blXbzitwS-s-r1DiI_SakQjV37yNfb_YzAn816TUEIqk26heqQHckfGkLuIF1ETJuvymedU8Taqysmq1ClXIn85WLHSA4DntktIaclfHFpHncLVxpPfVhsQc8jYMDL-MjKIh9ifcA/s320/IMG_7691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had time for a mascot selfie!</td></tr>
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We heard speeches from Jim Figley, WEA, and Scott DiMauro, Vice President of OEA, who were both campaigning for the office of President of OEA. We also heard from Jeff Wensing, Sophia Rodriguez, and Adrienne Bowman, who were running for Vice President of OEA. The speeches were all very well-done and it made me happy that we had such good candidates from which to choose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7hzUDbLO0ZWDmmv8PpFHhKm-0gevYsoSLZL8nCpbVjeZNfkZRBxn1iHrU8eFTv0xnz0M81YlZd3RYEdnNoKya793GarFj5XWsoX_06YmIViQHmr1uaCjkIim0NWTU2SHxh1slay0VwE/s1600/IMG_7680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7hzUDbLO0ZWDmmv8PpFHhKm-0gevYsoSLZL8nCpbVjeZNfkZRBxn1iHrU8eFTv0xnz0M81YlZd3RYEdnNoKya793GarFj5XWsoX_06YmIViQHmr1uaCjkIim0NWTU2SHxh1slay0VwE/s320/IMG_7680.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott DiMauro</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBEDlq1nx2CTguFnw6Tpgh1FOR0rpIN1H66QRGAsJgybmJxvlZgIf-MArlzHopWmUuRRAK2c1T654ZFMGIP_lvNUQIxrfBuUSy0sUqjh1fx556SAzDlPASYvQHV1RGw2Yk4e_fL6aYf8/s1600/IMG_7681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBEDlq1nx2CTguFnw6Tpgh1FOR0rpIN1H66QRGAsJgybmJxvlZgIf-MArlzHopWmUuRRAK2c1T654ZFMGIP_lvNUQIxrfBuUSy0sUqjh1fx556SAzDlPASYvQHV1RGw2Yk4e_fL6aYf8/s320/IMG_7681.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Wensing</td></tr>
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After speeches, we had a lunch and voting break. It was so exciting to see 900+ delegates lining up to vote for our officers. I had time for more selfies with fellow-delegates and officers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbEV5NT0iycElt3GjwKh3nJRWSiIQSk24uyB1BxMVllPlThQE69bFAt4kz_pYznD-472yxy7LPaq9Dq5kOMpaui_h4QHyGfM3Mek37FZww4qAUAVMVOPatl0JIQvFnM99CRHWN5Zrq98/s1600/IMG_7700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbEV5NT0iycElt3GjwKh3nJRWSiIQSk24uyB1BxMVllPlThQE69bFAt4kz_pYznD-472yxy7LPaq9Dq5kOMpaui_h4QHyGfM3Mek37FZww4qAUAVMVOPatl0JIQvFnM99CRHWN5Zrq98/s320/IMG_7700.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott DiMauro, Vice President of OEA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7tnnR7c9NUMCTPHsjf2d98G5rTGMiaTOF6qpQPcV8z5ALTumVbibi9U1k_ytx6t_i1wzMJHNBAamL4HJfXlvld-8u99QXansOcCbXB8nvjkjWq5K87Q2mrRMzR_xr2iRFXQjupKa730/s1600/IMG_7690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7tnnR7c9NUMCTPHsjf2d98G5rTGMiaTOF6qpQPcV8z5ALTumVbibi9U1k_ytx6t_i1wzMJHNBAamL4HJfXlvld-8u99QXansOcCbXB8nvjkjWq5K87Q2mrRMzR_xr2iRFXQjupKa730/s320/IMG_7690.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharron Callahan, OEA Director</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOSDWnsWjN1FJbmQz2qKihBJxrudCpgh9HFew45zj6VHwlZYyHh6H2Lwj9lK_gLj0ubjdEAIcAlh578iu3QKjv12Z_K5HpSFYZuLXOMGWb5YXFb6Tnq8Rnw63-b2TLl8SIuGRX-1ZnOU/s1600/IMG_7698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOSDWnsWjN1FJbmQz2qKihBJxrudCpgh9HFew45zj6VHwlZYyHh6H2Lwj9lK_gLj0ubjdEAIcAlh578iu3QKjv12Z_K5HpSFYZuLXOMGWb5YXFb6Tnq8Rnw63-b2TLl8SIuGRX-1ZnOU/s320/IMG_7698.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicole Stratton, Copley Teachers Association President</td></tr>
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I always take pictures with Copley delegates because I like to send them to my daughter. It kills her that I'm spending time with her teachers.<br />
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When we came back, we saw the awards for members who have contributed to the Fund for Children and Public Education. This was a special moment for me because my friend Steve Pierce earned a Lifetime Achievement Award, and my friend Jen Pierce, his wife, was accepting it on his behalf. Steve passed away two months ago, and his friends and family still deeply feel his absence. On this occasion, we were lucky to remember his generosity and dedication to public education. Becky Higgins, OEA President, said some kind words about him as Jen accepted the award.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becky Higgins, Jennifer Pierce</td></tr>
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The election for Vice President was pretty exciting because we had three strong candidates, and as predicted, there was a run-off vote, so off we went to the polls to vote again after a caucus with NEOEA. <br />
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As we waited for the results of the second vote, Vice President Scott DiMauro orchestrated a very touching tribute to Becky Higgins, as this was her last OEA RA. Some very impressive people spoke for Becky, including Senator Sherrod Brown, Betty Sutton, and many people whom Becky mentored during her tenure as President.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicole Stratton speaks of Becky's mentorship.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsa36GOgytFnSmCWUbM5iEdtDiEv5pZRgg788hniBvDAe492Nh_s2-9aPQzBDC3hUu1M7LQwi76UJsy7uwTxIFfwXf9XihJrmD9QO3tpkDz51njWEi_DLE8XwkiM-kQtK7ub2SVSrWpI/s1600/IMG_7685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsa36GOgytFnSmCWUbM5iEdtDiEv5pZRgg788hniBvDAe492Nh_s2-9aPQzBDC3hUu1M7LQwi76UJsy7uwTxIFfwXf9XihJrmD9QO3tpkDz51njWEi_DLE8XwkiM-kQtK7ub2SVSrWpI/s320/IMG_7685.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becky Higgins</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betty Sutton made a live appearance!</td></tr>
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We were pleased to hear the results of the election:<br />
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Our new OEA President is Scott DiMauro!<br />
Our new OEA Vice President is Jeff Wensing!<br />
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I am confident that under their leadership, OEA will be stronger than ever. I look forward to being a part of that future.<br />
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On Saturday, we debated and voted on New Business Items. These were resolutions that delegates wished OEA to adopt, and there was vigorous debate about all of them. These resolutions included strengthening our lobbying to repeal and replace RESA, eliminate state testing and reliance of testing scores for teacher evaluations and school report cards, and adopt a state-wide non-discrimination policy for our LGBTQ students and colleagues.<br />
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Needless to say, it was a busy weekend! I drove home on Saturday afternoon exhausted but happy with our work.<br />
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The next step is the National Education Association Representative Assembly in July in Houston, Texas, and Katie Shaffer, Bradley Dalzell, and I will be attending. I am looking forward to representing MCTA on a national level.<br />
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Not gonna lie: the selfie game is going to be ON POINT!!!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-6515252420121886962017-07-13T17:55:00.000-07:002017-07-13T17:55:05.900-07:00My First National Education Association Representative Assembly: Part 4<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">In case you missed Parts 1 (</span><a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">which you can read here</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">) 2 (</span><a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association_8.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">which you can read here</span></a><span style="color: #666666;">), and 3 (</span><a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association_10.html"><span style="color: blue;">which you can read here</span></a><span style="color: #666666;">) Medina City Teachers Association sent three delegates to the National Education Association Representatives Assembly in Boston, Massachusetts, and I was fortunate enough to be one of them. This post continues our adventure as delegates.</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;">Day 2 of the RA was voting for candidates day. We voted for candidates for President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. Because there are so many delegates, each state has an assigned voting time. Ohio's time was 11:15. It's kind of exciting to get up as a group and walk together to the voting booths.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what democracy looks like!</td></tr>
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It was also the day Ohio was scheduled to take a group picture, so we had to wear our OEA shirts. We were not happy with these shirts, and that's all I'm gonna say about that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're going to vote! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shenanigans on the floor waiting for the Ohio group picture</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This day was a super treat because not only did we get to get up and walk around to vote and get our pictures taken, we also got to see LeVar Burton get the Friend to Education award. YEEEESSSSS!!! LeVar Burton! <i>Reading Rainbow</i>!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But don't take my word for it. . . </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'm not gonna lie: I was crying when Lily gave him the award, I was crying during his extremely-supportive speech, I was crying while the whole crowd sang the theme song to <i>Reading Rainbow</i>. I once had the opportunity to see LeVar Burton at the ISTE conference in Atlanta, but I got shut out of the session because EVERYONE wanted to see him, so I was so happy he was there. This was an amazing gift to 7,500 educators, and it was the highlight of my day.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">For this post, I'd like to share one neat trick of Parliamentary Procedure that every rookie learns at the RA:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Let's say that we have voted on a gazillion New Business Items (we did), and we debated a whole bunch of them (we did). Let's say there were many times that people claimed Division and even challenged the Chair for a roll call vote (it happened). Next, a delegate goes to the microphone and asks to suspend the rules in order to revisit ALL PREVIOUS NEW BUSINESS ITEMS. WHAAAAAATTTT? This means that we potentially can go back to any of the decisions we have already made and start over again? ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN HUMAN????</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is a completely natural reaction; I know this because it was my reaction when it happened. Surprisingly, all the experienced delegates around me were very calm about it, and Lily didn't seem a bit perturbed. She put the question to the Body: Will you suspend the rules in order to revisit all previous items of debate? All in favor, say "Aye." All opposed, say "No." Of course the No's resounded through the hall like a roll of thunder. That's when I figured it out; we voted no, so now nobody can challenge a previous decision and ask to revisit it. We've sealed the deal, so to speak. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Pretty nifty, eh?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is enough information for one post; it was a pretty exciting day. Bradley and Katie had scored tickets to the LGBTQ Awards Ceremony (I wasn't cool enough to make the cut, I guess), so I had dinner in the North End with my new NEOEA friends Tammy, Ellen, and Sharron. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner was great; the company was better!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Up next: Auctions and July 4th.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter <complete id="goog_2118578357">@itibrout!</complete></span></span><br />
<br />Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-59337832889856170862017-07-10T18:31:00.000-07:002017-07-10T18:34:02.146-07:00My First National Education Association Representative Assembly: Part 3<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">In case you missed Parts 1 (</span><a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">which you can read here</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">) and 2 (<a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association_8.html"><span style="color: blue;">which you can read here</span></a>), Medina City Teachers Association sent three delegates to the National Education Association Representatives Assembly in Boston, Massachusetts, and I was fortunate enough to be one of them. This post continues our adventure as delegates.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The official Assembly was incredible: There were over 7,500 teachers, over 11,000 people in the Convention hall. Each state had a designated area in which to sit, and because Ohio had over 350 delegates, our section was further divided into regions. Seating is a big deal at the RA. As a new delegate, I had no idea how much energy we would devote to discussing who sits where. What you are supposed to do is bring a seat marker (which most districts provide to the delegates) to mark your place during the week. Luckily for us, Sue from Parma offered to find us three seats together in the NEOEA district. Our location wasn't bad at all, even though we were in the last rows of the Ohio delegation, and Ohio was seated toward the back. We had microphones to either side of us, and there were big screens right in front of us, so I feel like I was still in the middle of the action.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohio starts to fill up the seats.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Each day of the RA has a different theme. This first day of the Assembly was District-themed, so everyone wore clothing affiliated with their region. Most of us purchased NEOEA hoodies, and let me tell you, I am SO GLAD I did because it was cooooooollllldddd in that convention center.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKKN44pe5Oe2MVf2Dhp6v1KM7GCgDu_McL0TT9_0MKPaypTZ4-xg1Sy0hyphenhyphenRG6Dl6cIyI5UNVqUuOLvn_lkdMTZcZiRuXZlisfzLjhVQVzeGtVPuIZHU9BQUM0wMUHTZKwgx5OrECk6eA/s1600/IMG_5083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKKN44pe5Oe2MVf2Dhp6v1KM7GCgDu_McL0TT9_0MKPaypTZ4-xg1Sy0hyphenhyphenRG6Dl6cIyI5UNVqUuOLvn_lkdMTZcZiRuXZlisfzLjhVQVzeGtVPuIZHU9BQUM0wMUHTZKwgx5OrECk6eA/s320/IMG_5083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is EXACTLY how I look when I wonder where our seats are.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The two days of Ohio Caucus really helped me to figure out what was going on during the assembly, as the procedure was exactly the same, only with more debate. LOTS more debate. Again, the most popular motions were the ones to end debate. As in any group setting, there are always people who want to talk or be on the jumbo screen, even when they have nothing new or useful to add, but I was impressed with the way Lily Eskelsen Garcia handled people who tried to manipulate parliamentary procedure. She was always kind but firm when she shut down delegates who jumped the line in debate by claiming a point of information when all they wanted to do was debate for or against the motion. I especially loved when someone challenged her decision on a Division vote. Here is a popular meme that went around Twitter about the decisiveness of Lily, Becky, and Princess:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meme Credit: Bruce Twitchell on Twitter</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Speaking of Lily (you knew I was going to speak of Lily, right?), her keynote speech rocked the house. <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/07/03/teachers-union-leader-we-wont-work-with-trump-and-devos-because-i-do-not-trust-their-motives/?utm_term=.5afed7298dc9">Here is an analysis of it in <i>The Washington Post</i></a>.</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">As we voted on New Business Items and Resolutions Amendments, I tried to keep up with a database, but the wifi was spotty at best on the first day, so I ended up writing down much of the information in the daily booklet of New Business Items. I still haven't gone through it, but it's lurking in my bag in my closet, and I know I'll have to go back to it soon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">We took a lunch break and visited the best park ever just outside the convention center. It had swings for adults, a band, and a food stand. The swings had solar panels on the top, and they glowed in the dark at night. Plus, the swinging generated energy. So cool!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GhjuXwn1bEA_jF70jfkbQgA4wbWFSh-zuOC2kE2GZEKxChbTq3W7War5DfATPyciGkSe8Fay_jU5XdGZbDHdtzN84t8Ij4tqBxHnrZiPCoi837Ehzksb6liFfefP4_773w3UezPyoWg/s1600/IMG_5085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GhjuXwn1bEA_jF70jfkbQgA4wbWFSh-zuOC2kE2GZEKxChbTq3W7War5DfATPyciGkSe8Fay_jU5XdGZbDHdtzN84t8Ij4tqBxHnrZiPCoi837Ehzksb6liFfefP4_773w3UezPyoWg/s320/IMG_5085.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I could have sat in this swing all day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CaFUdKFmpJwHI_iFncUl7C5cJvbdODtF8wt_ilG9JoWF95SD_405uZn8JGB7OnNPwZVKQdb4y5dBL5CBhqwsEr9hkv5fCJHxenY2pL9xemLMNVfaXPFRcGvAWx5d8rbxsJvRVi2DKUU/s1600/IMG_5084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CaFUdKFmpJwHI_iFncUl7C5cJvbdODtF8wt_ilG9JoWF95SD_405uZn8JGB7OnNPwZVKQdb4y5dBL5CBhqwsEr9hkv5fCJHxenY2pL9xemLMNVfaXPFRcGvAWx5d8rbxsJvRVi2DKUU/s320/IMG_5084.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie agrees.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">After a break, we came back to more debates and voting. Lily seemed to be frustrated with the technology problems and the acoustics of the hall, so we adjourned at around 5:00, which was the earliest we would leave that week. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">That evening we went to dinner with some NEOEA colleagues, and we had a really nice time.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxcrodZboAoNoeaFyTSeP5rz7HvRjFCZqAksTXndoaF-rLC2J1TSHQnCRRuhiZ6sF14mQR5ObdaLbIKYLD7a4Fi1v2n52lqRyC9DziiALCH2yv-r_6Ab6ff5sm-Nf_OTJFcXJjSgaS88/s1600/IMG_5087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuxcrodZboAoNoeaFyTSeP5rz7HvRjFCZqAksTXndoaF-rLC2J1TSHQnCRRuhiZ6sF14mQR5ObdaLbIKYLD7a4Fi1v2n52lqRyC9DziiALCH2yv-r_6Ab6ff5sm-Nf_OTJFcXJjSgaS88/s320/IMG_5087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bradley is making friends with everyone.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">One thing I appreciate about Boston is that it is so walkable. We walked just about everywhere we wanted to go. This means that even though I sat on my butt for hours every day, I still walked at least four miles in the afternoon and evening. Plus, I was running at least four miles each morning. With all the delicious food here, I had to do something to burn off the calories!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">We knew that the 5:00 dismissal was a fluke, and we had about 4,297 gajillion New Business Items to discuss in the coming days, so after dinner, it was bedtime. 7:00 Caucus tomorrow!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Next Post: Voting and Learning the Tricks</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter <complete id="goog_1090556675">@itibrout!</complete></span></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-44613067306759399232017-07-08T19:13:00.000-07:002017-09-25T06:13:17.064-07:00My First National Education Association Representatives Assembly Part 2In case you missed Part 1 (<a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-first-national-education-association.html"><span style="color: blue;"><b>which you can read here</b></span></a>), Medina City Teachers Association sent three delegates to the National Education Association Representatives Assembly in Boston, Massachusetts, and I was fortunate enough to be one of them. This post continues our adventure as delegates.<br />
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July 1 started with our 7:00 AM Ohio Caucus. We went through a bazillion New Business Items and Resolutions Amendments with plenty of debate. I was able to tweet out the number of items we covered each day in Caucus, but it got really difficult to keep track of how many items we covered in the RA.<br />
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One thing I learned from the Ohio Caucus (and the state and district RAs I attended in Ohio) is Parliamentary Procedure as it applies to voting:<br />
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First, there is a movement, where a delegate says what Lily Eskelsen Garcia calls "the magic words: I MOVE. . ." Then the Chair calls for a Second to the Motion. Each and every time you speak at the microphone as a delegate, you must identify yourself by name and district (and of course by state if you are at the RA). After somebody seconds the motion, the Maker has two minutes to speak to his/her Motion. If there are questions, this is the moment to come to the microphone and ask them; this is called a Point of Information. If you do not support the Motion, you may explain why (in one minute or less). The Chair will alternate between both sides of the debate until somebody moves to end debate. I learned at the RA that the person who moves to end debate is going to be the most popular person on the floor because the debates can go on forever if somebody doesn't end them. A motion to end debate always merits applause. Then we vote to end debate or not, but at this RA we never voted to extend a debate. After we end debate, we vote for or against the Motion by yelling "Aye" or "No" when the Chair asks us to do so.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is EXACTLY how we look when we vote at the OEA Caucus. . .only we aren't a bunch of British dudes in tights.</td></tr>
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Sometimes the Chair will be uncertain to whether the Motion passes, so she will call for votes again. If she is still uncertain, she will call Division. This means that all who are in favor of the motion will stand up when called to do so, and all those against will do the same when it is their turn. This is usually somewhat exciting for two reasons: 1. When you are sitting on your butt for a long time, you REALLY want to stand up and stretch, and 2. When you do stand up, you raise your hands above your head and wave them back and forth while trying to make as much noise as possible. How can you not love that?<br />
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If the Chair is still in doubt, or if a delegate challenges the decision of the Chair, there could be a roll call vote, where someone actually individually counts (instead of estimating) each person standing. That happened once in the Ohio Caucus, and wouldn't you know it. . .that was when I went to the bathroom, so I missed it because the ushers lock the doors when we are in Division. Lesson learned: Don't go to the bathroom. Sigh.<br />
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There is another nifty trick of Parliamentary Procedure that every rookie delegate learns, but I will explain that in a different post.<br />
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To break up the voting and debate, we had candidates come speak to us, and we were lucky enough to see Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Becky Pringle, and Princess Moss, active President, Vice President, and Treasurer of the NEA. I was thrilled to see all three of them up close. They are excellent speakers with an amazing presence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1ZY3TO81ATOwJUFCljb3gJaKLPhClYoC3weH8jJPIOfAfSjr0KZvC0OOctAroH4m5wmMzjzPCHh_N-lN2kSEgxp5QlRDUVz1pS6kqqKBThjlR2jPsgJfSt3k_2-gdvAGYWHw_JritGg/s1600/IMG_5080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1ZY3TO81ATOwJUFCljb3gJaKLPhClYoC3weH8jJPIOfAfSjr0KZvC0OOctAroH4m5wmMzjzPCHh_N-lN2kSEgxp5QlRDUVz1pS6kqqKBThjlR2jPsgJfSt3k_2-gdvAGYWHw_JritGg/s320/IMG_5080.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily Eskelsen Garcia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomnSweX78QtX2EBapgy56HHusBXk2q3tR-Au4KNYQ0FKs67iScRnqa7_GhGthyRZ_a7Jk3wsC0dQUZnSYYbTiuel_uUy8wCFkbpkMlAj-B12ZR2rWU4Q6SIeFp494TwFtODB-Va3u6iM/s1600/IMG_5081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomnSweX78QtX2EBapgy56HHusBXk2q3tR-Au4KNYQ0FKs67iScRnqa7_GhGthyRZ_a7Jk3wsC0dQUZnSYYbTiuel_uUy8wCFkbpkMlAj-B12ZR2rWU4Q6SIeFp494TwFtODB-Va3u6iM/s320/IMG_5081.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becky Pringle</td></tr>
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I was even luckier to meet Lily (as she asked us to call her!) face to face at the New Delegate Meeting, which took place in the afternoon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA-hImpz6Gxrbn0uCWVekJnStHApC55dTD9sqaXFkBdy9-1DrihQVpg-Cw_WYK2WgV6_-zOJnha6LhlRNNUsvsdPKsmMMgTwZKrWTR9wdQQfyfMfJOo0n_b3F-ZMdzwguRvo3S8wTi-I/s1600/IMG_5061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLA-hImpz6Gxrbn0uCWVekJnStHApC55dTD9sqaXFkBdy9-1DrihQVpg-Cw_WYK2WgV6_-zOJnha6LhlRNNUsvsdPKsmMMgTwZKrWTR9wdQQfyfMfJOo0n_b3F-ZMdzwguRvo3S8wTi-I/s320/IMG_5061.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi, Lily! No, I'm not a stalker. . . as far as you know.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can I tell everyone we are besties?</td></tr>
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As if the day wasn't exciting enough, that evening Katie and I attended the Human and Civil Rights Awards Dinner. It was a black tie affair, and it was so inspiring. One of the awards went to Jim Obergefell from Ohio, who won the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Obergefell<br />
Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Obergefell receiving his award</td></tr>
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I felt so humbled by the accomplishments of each of the award recipients; these people fought hard for rights that many of us take for granted, and I can barely get my bathroom clean on any given day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, Scott DiMauro (VP of OEA), Me</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa and I went to high school together. It was a mini-reunion!</td></tr>
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I returned back to the hotel, inspired by everyone and physically and emotionally drained. I had to remind myself that pacing is key; I can't learn everything in one or two days. . .but I sure was going to try my best.<br />
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Next post: First official day of the NEARA<br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!NEA<br />
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<br />Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-65270752308171756842017-07-07T17:22:00.000-07:002017-07-07T17:22:11.554-07:00My First National Education Association Representative Assembly Part 1Each year, the National Education Association, a union with 3.2 million members, holds the largest democratic assembly in the U.S. This year's Representative Assembly took place in Boston, Massachusetts, during the week of July 4, 2017. My district elected me and two other delegates to add our voices and our votes to the assembly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, Me, Bradley. We are waiting for the plane to take us there. We sat for an hour on the tarmac when we got there. Let's just get this over with: Bradley is, like, 12 years old, but he attended previous RAs as a student delegate, so he has way more experience than we have with this.</td></tr>
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We arrived late to Boston, so we had just enough time to get our rooms, unpack, and eat a snack before we went to bed. We had a 7:30 caucus to attend the next morning, and I wanted to run in Boston Commons, so we needed our beauty rest. <br />
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Katie and I ran to the Boston Marathon finish line, just down the street from our hotel, at 5 am. The last time I took my picture on the finish line, I committed a faux pas by stepping on it. My runner friends were horrified, and they told me that a runner does NOT step on the finish line until he/she crosses it during the race. I reversed the bad mojo by taking the correct picture this time:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmGoo1VRH-2He_ZiJy1fVmxNPFmnleF6sw3NT4dHBCuOLTXEat5EIGht2z_M5U7K5Wa8wLn0ub7PWCGjpp_QLQdj8C8t-l6hbvCBkgIv0428fRU0A5MS-LHklR7kKH6E1TcoTmGyvDwo/s1600/IMG_5044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmGoo1VRH-2He_ZiJy1fVmxNPFmnleF6sw3NT4dHBCuOLTXEat5EIGht2z_M5U7K5Wa8wLn0ub7PWCGjpp_QLQdj8C8t-l6hbvCBkgIv0428fRU0A5MS-LHklR7kKH6E1TcoTmGyvDwo/s320/IMG_5044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie did the right thing; she has no bad mojo.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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We started the Ohio Caucus at 7:30 AM, which was later than our regular 7:00 AM call for the rest of the week. I was very excited and nervous because I really didn't know what we would be doing. I had attended an Ohio Caucus in Columbus in June in preparation for this RA, but there was so much information, and it was really overwhelming. Luckily, Bradley had attended several RAs in college as a student delegate, so he was able to provide us with some guidance and lots of introductions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first Ohio Caucus in Boston!</td></tr>
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I spent this first day listening and watching and trying to follow along with what was happening around me. Here is what we do in Caucus:<br />
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1. Our President, Becky Higgins, welcomes us and gives us some general information about what the meeting and the day will be like.<br />
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2. Each day we have a booklet that lists the New Business Items delegates have submitted for consideration. It also lists any Resolutions Amendments and NEA Constitutional Amendments that are under consideration. We methodically go through as many of these items as possible, debating whether Ohio supports each item or not when we vote on them in the Assembly. Sometimes we don't agree easily, and that is where explanations from various committees and debating among delegates come in. It's fascinating, and it takes a lot of listening and concentration.<br />
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3. In between reports and debates, candidates for NEA President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Board visited us to campaign, so there were a lot of speeches. Ohio is a big group, over 350 delegates, so we had a lot of campaigners. More on this in the next post.<br />
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4. There was a silent auction and a live auction going on during Caucus to raise money for the Fund for Children and Public Education. The first day our Auction Chair had people bid on hard-boiled eggs, as apparently these were hot ticket items in previous years. I was a little confused by this part, but I eventually figured it out, so I'll explain more on it in a later post.<br />
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After the Caucus, we had some time to explore and eat breakfast. Then we attended a tour of Fenway Park. The tour was arranged by North Eastern Ohio Education Association, my branch of the Ohio Education Association. I had visited Boston with my family two years ago, but Fenway was something we never got to see, so I was really excited about this tour. I learned about the history of the ballpark, the Green Monster, the players, and the ownership.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTTP6dEz8Zt1CNC6WJ6meRDTltrALQ9dP-puqebR7s5keH8lqvufHGFPGtWkAh12LtGobvKKF_cQjFNwqShz5XAnErWMzTYI3zqpiMMMTUdtAU8qfaMbODph_5YAJgCjjoOljjX7RDKo/s1600/IMG_5050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTTP6dEz8Zt1CNC6WJ6meRDTltrALQ9dP-puqebR7s5keH8lqvufHGFPGtWkAh12LtGobvKKF_cQjFNwqShz5XAnErWMzTYI3zqpiMMMTUdtAU8qfaMbODph_5YAJgCjjoOljjX7RDKo/s320/IMG_5050.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the park before the tour<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reminder sign in the park. I feel like this is for me. Let me live!</td></tr>
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Did you know that Fenway park has a large garden that supplies much of the vegetables used in the food at the park? It also helps climate control in the offices!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehwzBgPw0aYwOlMotM2Lr7DyefSsG40FDbgwhUjtVVzGh4zl9tHpcFsYd3hwIrsbpHYMZga-6S-OqV4lbbsT7JfN7xrvWyu89_TE5ZVsPsnkZdqIUOFnfkGXcl46CkhFQzfIyxqBuLgk/s1600/IMG_5055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehwzBgPw0aYwOlMotM2Lr7DyefSsG40FDbgwhUjtVVzGh4zl9tHpcFsYd3hwIrsbpHYMZga-6S-OqV4lbbsT7JfN7xrvWyu89_TE5ZVsPsnkZdqIUOFnfkGXcl46CkhFQzfIyxqBuLgk/s320/IMG_5055.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the view from the press box, second tier.</td></tr>
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After the tour, NEOEA invited us to a lunch at The Bleacher Bar, which is a bar/restaurant right off the field on the same level. You can look right out the window and see the game directly in front of you!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie and I at lunch. Bradley was sitting with the "cool" people.</td></tr>
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The three of us had a little time to explore Boston before our evening responsibilities, so we walked to the Harbor and we watched the seals swimming outside the aquarium. We also saw Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market and the site of the Boston Massacre.<br />
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That evening we had Ohio Night, a dinner/dance for the delegates. The three of us cleaned up and mingled with other Ohians. I enjoyed meeting other people, and the food was really good!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwfiAegiQfLkkU14NN-auaPGH7neOzttoUYX3-R1w4DY_yGshmZTJHQrn7ahM2FnGq5jgwxfWXDIx0oyVN5kmTcFruK8mu_7em-xhTpO-L5AEoJSsSfow4ZZwadANDoXw6PXBPNZtYd4/s1600/IMG_5058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwfiAegiQfLkkU14NN-auaPGH7neOzttoUYX3-R1w4DY_yGshmZTJHQrn7ahM2FnGq5jgwxfWXDIx0oyVN5kmTcFruK8mu_7em-xhTpO-L5AEoJSsSfow4ZZwadANDoXw6PXBPNZtYd4/s320/IMG_5058.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohio Night: We clean up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoq5QPbEe4qE8wD0NdxAaksB95p4D2J4BC1MUxjF1PkfSzWRpIlqHf9BKEnptHcxDyZd7Q7jpOOrn7d5B_1efiYxXECvpM17lY1bi4UIZKPqDI6Z-8xLBuMuVEVAH6h0tBcdbsuHbqlA/s1600/IMG_5060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoq5QPbEe4qE8wD0NdxAaksB95p4D2J4BC1MUxjF1PkfSzWRpIlqHf9BKEnptHcxDyZd7Q7jpOOrn7d5B_1efiYxXECvpM17lY1bi4UIZKPqDI6Z-8xLBuMuVEVAH6h0tBcdbsuHbqlA/s320/IMG_5060.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Mary Alice Conkey: Executive Director of NEOEA</td></tr>
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This day was an important time for me to establish some contacts for the Assembly. There were a lot of things, little and big, that I had to process, and I needed to make sure I had some guidance so I didn't do anything stupid. I made sure to touch base with Mary Alice, whom I know from my work on the Leadership Development Committee. She was very reassuring and helpful.<br />
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The first day was a whirlwind. After Ohio Night, I headed off to bed, my body exhausted and my mind racing.<br />
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Next Post: Day 2 of Ohio Caucus and Day 1 of the NEA Representative Assembly<br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-62827078494561338672016-02-04T06:25:00.000-08:002016-02-04T06:25:27.642-08:00PBS Honors Maya Angelou“Here on the pulse of this new day<br />
You may have the grace to look up and out<br />
And into your sister’s eyes, into<br />
Your brother’s face, your country<br />
And say simply<br />
Very simply<br />
With hope<br />
Good morning.”<br />
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– “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou On May 28, 2014,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/My_Heroes_-_Maya_Angelou_connected_with_countless_people_through_her_powerful_poetry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/My_Heroes_-_Maya_Angelou_connected_with_countless_people_through_her_powerful_poetry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Maya Angelou, Chwefror 2009</span></td></tr>
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Renaissance woman and civil rights activist Maya Angelou passed away at the age of 86. She read one of her most famous poems, "On the Pulse of the Morning" at the inauguration of President Clinton in 1993.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Angeloupoem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Angeloupoem.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speaking at Bill Clinton's inauguration, 1993</td></tr>
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Angelou’s talent was not defined by just one medium. Throughout her life, she was a poet, novelist, dancer, playwright, actor and educator. She has written autobiographies, poems, children’s books, essays, plays and screenplays. Angelou has been awarded more than 50 honorary degrees and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Maya_Angelou_speech_for_Barack_Obama_campaign_2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Maya_Angelou_speech_for_Barack_Obama_campaign_2008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Maya Angelou speaking at a rally for Barack Obama, 2008</span></td></tr>
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In this lesson from PBS NewsHour Extra, students learn more about her extraordinary life. LESSON: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1QqieWV">http://to.pbs.org/1QqieWV</a><br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-46220016582729413742016-01-12T08:19:00.001-08:002016-01-12T08:20:40.526-08:00PBS Shows Us Harriet Beecher Stowe<span style="font-size: large;">Author Harriet Beecher Stowe had a tremendous impact on northern attitudes toward ending slavery. Her book <i>Uncle Tom’s Cabin,</i> published in 1852, became a sensation in part because it humanized slaves and focused on her readers’ emotions. I remember reading it when I was ten, and Stowe's description of abuses plantation owners inflicted on slaves has stayed with me even today. It directed my reading and questioning of Southern literature, eventually leading me to Ralph Ellison's classic depiction of The Harlem Renaissance, <i>Invisible Man</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> went on to sell 300,000 copies in the first year in the U.S. The novel was even more successful in Great Britain, where 1.5 million copies were sold in a year; a figure its publisher claimed was “10 times the sales of any book other than the Bible and prayer book.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this video adapted from American Experience: “The Abolitionists” featuring historical reenactments, students learn about the far-reaching impact of Stowe’s writings on the abolitionist movement. They will learn how Stowe’s commitment to the abolitionist cause was strengthened after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, and how her best-seller was credited with “putting a human face on slavery” and helping launch the Civil War. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1IOJJYA">http://to.pbs.org/1IOJJYA</a></span><br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter <complete id="goog_530613759">@itibrout!</complete>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-67515335037214186412015-11-23T18:10:00.001-08:002015-11-23T18:10:55.236-08:00PBS Teaches Us Symmetry<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Tiger, Tiger, burning bright</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">In the forests of the night</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What immortal hand or eye</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Could frame thy fearful symmetry?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> --William Blake</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Symmetry can be found all around us. You need only look in the mirror to find evidence that the human body is symmetrical. If you draw a line down the middle of your body, you will see that one side is the mirror image of the other side; this is called bilateral symmetry (a.k.a. reflection symmetry or mirror symmetry). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is EXACTLY what "fearful symmetry" looks like!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another common type of symmetry is rotational symmetry. If a figure can be rotated a certain number of degrees about its center and look exactly the same, the figure is said to have rotational symmetry. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/The_armoured_triskelion_on_the_flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg/2000px-The_armoured_triskelion_on_the_flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/The_armoured_triskelion_on_the_flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg/2000px-The_armoured_triskelion_on_the_flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You call this rotational symmetry. I call it weird.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Plants and animals that exhibit symmetrical features are thought to be healthier than asymmetrical members of their species. In this video segment from Cyberchase, students will learn how symmetry reveals itself in nature. When Bianca wants to learn why her plants keep dying, she turns to a plant expert at the New York Botanical Garden for insight. The expert shows her some patterns in plants, including bilateral and rotational symmetry, before discovering the pattern that may be killing her plants. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1O7BVjg">http://to.pbs.org/1O7BVjg</a></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-51900311497297644772015-11-22T11:46:00.000-08:002015-11-22T11:47:02.050-08:00My Day at the WVIZ Ideastream ConferenceTuesday, November 17, was an exciting day. I battled morning traffic on 77 North to get to the PBS WVIZ Ideastream Conference, and I arrived early enough for a Starbucks treat. When I checked in at the registration table, the nice lady said, "Oh! You're Stephani. You need to go see that gentleman at the next table." Worried that something was wrong, I introduced myself, and he told me to follow an intern. Next thing I knew, I was in the television studio, the same television studio where I took my students to see Tom Hanks and John Lithgow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The studio seats about 200 people. Soon it would be packed!</td></tr>
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This time, I would not only be lucky enough to sit in the front row, but I also was honored to present after the keynote speaker, Dr. Susan Finelli. My name was on the web page and in the program!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There I am!</td></tr>
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As I waited, a nice lady fitted me with a body microphone--how surreal is that? Then we rehearsed until we broke the computer. I blithely posted selfies while the tech people sweated bullets trying to figure out the problem.<br />
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A photo posted by Stephani Itibrout (@itibrout) on <time datetime="2015-11-17T13:36:45+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 17, 2015 at 5:36am PST</time></div>
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I took a selfie with Jay Wise, History teacher at Copley Middle School and fellow 2015 PBS Digital Innovator. The best part is that he is my daughter's teacher, so I texted the pic to her to freak her out.<br />
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A photo posted by Stephani Itibrout (@itibrout) on <time datetime="2015-11-17T14:02:09+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 17, 2015 at 6:02am PST</time></div>
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Then Jay and I received certificates for being 2015 PBS Digital Innovators, and I got a cool mini-guitar!<br />
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIFIthzTZEs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Let me say that it was difficult to follow such an interesting speaker (Dr. Finelli), but I breathed deeply and dove in. Here is the link to my presentation on <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1beSK7ANP2VMTSuG9odnJvPRUjX8GyeuduSH4V0J3dQQ/edit?usp=sharing"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Community Service in Blended Learning</b></span></a>.<br />
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I think it went well.<br />
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Later, Shannon Conley-Kurjian and I presented a session on <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kp2U4F0azokRtMIGWMj2gUlo1fBlXIveq5qhHyg-Zbk/edit?usp=sharing"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">using YouTube tools to explain complex concepts</span></a>. <br />
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I attended some great sessions from Stephanie DeMichele, PBS' NewsDepth, and Ann Radefeld, who challenged us to beat some elementary school kids in a game of Mystery Hangout. They kicked our butts.<br />
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After lunch I listened to IdeaTalks from Morgan Kolis ("How to Start a Maker's Club in Ten Steps"), Stephanie DeMichele ("If You're Going to Fail, Make It Epic"), and Eric Curts ("The Big Blank Wall"). The speakers from all of my sessions were so dynamic and so full of information that I felt like I could go back to my school with takeaways I could use immediately. That doesn't always happen at a conference.<br />
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Thank you so much for an amazing day, WVIZ and PBS. Your conference has inspired me to strive to hone my craft. I will be back.<br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!<br />
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<br />Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-34211623202012443612015-11-16T17:48:00.001-08:002015-11-16T17:49:15.156-08:00True Grit Revisited <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">What’s the best predictor of success in a person’s life, including success in education? When it comes to predicting the latter, psychologist and former educator Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth says we need to better understand students and learning from a motivational and psychological perspective. “In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ,” Duckworth says. “But what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?” Duckworth, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, studies non-IQ competencies, including self-control and grit that predict success both academically and professionally. Over the course of her research, she says one characteristic emerged as the key predictor of success – GRIT. So what exactly is grit? Find out in her TED Talk. </span><a href="http://to.pbs.org/1l9YkmD">http://to.pbs.org/1l9YkmD</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA5hSjGUh68GWUfzNdEGe9xpnFNbjmnz_BVdoyNdFmiBUZpCgc7ccosxIQjkDIIObTAV4QaMRd9E8xEOe0M3lJDtvKb2_rUsb76qmoDosqo2dsRzOagpY_2WSj6qXtlUVgb9aJo-uH8c/s1600/Medina+Half+finish+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtA5hSjGUh68GWUfzNdEGe9xpnFNbjmnz_BVdoyNdFmiBUZpCgc7ccosxIQjkDIIObTAV4QaMRd9E8xEOe0M3lJDtvKb2_rUsb76qmoDosqo2dsRzOagpY_2WSj6qXtlUVgb9aJo-uH8c/s320/Medina+Half+finish+2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It takes a lot of grit to finish a half marathon in hot weather and 80% humidity.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want to read more about grit in the classroom? I learned an important lesson in my Blended Learning Rhetoric and Composition class; <a href="http://medinablendme.blogspot.com/2013/06/true-grit-what-my-blended-learning.html"><span style="color: blue;">click here to read the full post on True Grit</span></a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!</span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-72635912533815344332015-11-11T17:33:00.000-08:002015-11-11T17:33:29.080-08:00PBS Honors Veterans<span style="font-size: large;">Military veterans are extraordinary — their bravery inspires us and their sacrifices secure our freedoms. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-lLnqNalR0V_MiFrkwv44kw-rHDVdPRjvy3d2psZOyfiBL6OTU3nRnNQ8nLt1dV5KqFwoniw17Wg27xnk59q6n17_QT6hHfF51gGkhNs_INwmUtBUL9hvIGA10l5a1udSaAsPc0EKns/s1600/Uncle+Frankie+in+war.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-lLnqNalR0V_MiFrkwv44kw-rHDVdPRjvy3d2psZOyfiBL6OTU3nRnNQ8nLt1dV5KqFwoniw17Wg27xnk59q6n17_QT6hHfF51gGkhNs_INwmUtBUL9hvIGA10l5a1udSaAsPc0EKns/s320/Uncle+Frankie+in+war.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The man on the far right is my Uncle Frankie. He was sixteen or seventeen (I've hear conflicting stories) when he lied about his age and joined up during WWII. His biggest problem (he told me) was that he was tiny, and he had to "make weight" to enlist, so he gorged himself before weighing in. Is this true? I dunno. Uncle Frankie had a lot of great stories, and my grandmother ( his big sister) tended to discount most of them, but I didn't care. I loved to listen to him. Seeing this picture, knowing that Uncle Frankie was involved in an air battle and survived, reminds me that we are so lucky to enjoy the freedoms we have. I am grateful to all veterans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This PBS LearningMedia collection of videos, images, and lesson plans allow you to bring their compelling stories from the battlefront into American history and world history classrooms. Students will explore the similarities and differences in veterans’ memories of World War II and Vietnam to uncover how these wars shaped American culture. Your class will also learn about everything from the experiences of men on the battlefield during D-Day, to the decision to drop the atomic bomb, to the events in Somalia in the early 1990’s that inspired the book (and movie) “Black Hawk Down.” EXPLORE: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1MubiHH">http://to.pbs.org/1MubiHH</a></span><br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-58261155998997149212015-11-04T16:28:00.001-08:002015-11-16T17:52:17.662-08:00Cherokee Language and Nature<span style="font-size: large;">The Cherokee believe everything in the environment, from crops and animals to creeks, mountains and even the wind – all have an intelligent spirit and play a central role in daily life. The Cherokee do not view themselves as separate from the environment. Rather, they see themselves as part of it. Their language reflects that. </span><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Cherokee_Indians_ready_for_The_Green_Corn_Dance,_Cherokee,_N._C._(5755511285).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Cherokee_Indians_ready_for_The_Green_Corn_Dance,_Cherokee,_N._C._(5755511285).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Language is the core to any culture because it is what that culture expresses itself with and it is the dynamic mechanism through which that culture continues,” says Tom Belt, Coordinator of the Cherokee Language Revitalization Program at Western Carolina University. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Cherokee_Syllabary.svg/2000px-Cherokee_Syllabary.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Cherokee_Syllabary.svg/2000px-Cherokee_Syllabary.svg.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherokee Syllabary</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this lesson from UNC-TV, students learn about the link between Cherokee language and culture, how it was almost lost to history, and how Western Carolina researchers are working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee to study, preserve and grow the language once again. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1LYh823">http://to.pbs.org/1LYh823</a></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-88446320845904930342015-10-26T15:17:00.000-07:002015-10-26T15:17:41.828-07:00Frankenstein Comes Alive<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QuoKNZjr8_U" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">"It's alive!"</span>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That memorable line was in <i>Frankenstein</i> the movie, but it wasn’t in the book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I prefer this version.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And many think of Frankenstein as the stiff-armed, fabricated monster, but that was actually the doctor’s name.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Boris_Karloff_as_Frankenstein's_monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Boris_Karloff_as_Frankenstein's_monster.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boris Karloff as the monster</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> In this episode of “Crash Course,” John Green introduces your class to Mary Shelley's famously frightful novel. Students will learn about the Romantic movement in English lit, of which <i>Frankenstein</i> is a GREAT example, and how <i>Frankenstein</i> might just be the very first SciFi novel. As it often does, literature comes down to just what it means to be human. John will review the plot, take the class through a couple of different critical readings of the novel, and discuss the final disposition of Percy Shelley's heart. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1RhBa7E">http://to.pbs.org/1RhBa7E</a></span><br />
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Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-9151474559987856892015-10-14T18:04:00.001-07:002015-10-14T18:04:30.150-07:00BRRRAAAAIIINS!<span style="font-size: large;">Why is it important to protect the brain? Are boy’s brains different than girl’s brains? How does your brain interact with your body? </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img09.deviantart.net/e6a3/i/2013/136/2/c/zombie___brains_by_thredith-d65i92x.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img09.deviantart.net/e6a3/i/2013/136/2/c/zombie___brains_by_thredith-d65i92x.png" height="309" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zombie wants to know this : Why are brains so yummy?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Your students can explore these and other important discussion questions as they probe the power and mystery of the brain. In this video from The Human Spark, Alan Alda talks with Dr. Todd Preuss on the subject of the brain and how it functions. Preuss studies the brain with the help of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI machines, which reveal the sophisticated circuitry of the brain’s cortex. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Students will learn how the cortex differs in individuals and how those differences could relate to how people think or act. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1j60gf5">http://to.pbs.org/1j60gf5</a></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-18821353222937866092015-10-12T18:09:00.000-07:002015-10-12T18:09:15.016-07:00The Eyes Have It<span style="font-size: large;">Humans, like most other mammals, are primarily sight oriented, which means that our eyes are our dominant sense organs. The reason we rely so heavily on vision most likely lies in our evolutionary history. Millions of years ago, the way of life of the ancestors of Homo sapiens favored those with good vision and selected against individuals who could not see as well. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice eyes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img13.deviantart.net/b50a/i/2012/341/8/4/the_eyes_of_alice_cooper_by_s_anita_rium-d5lpq48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img13.deviantart.net/b50a/i/2012/341/8/4/the_eyes_of_alice_cooper_by_s_anita_rium-d5lpq48.jpg" height="150" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Cooper eyes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiuZwTY2sCaT8dktM1b6iDHaoxbnhPO0jCAtyKXum8sfl966TrJg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiuZwTY2sCaT8dktM1b6iDHaoxbnhPO0jCAtyKXum8sfl966TrJg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What the heck???</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this lesson based on NOVA’s "Mystery of the Senses: Vision,” students explore how their eyes receive visual information from the world around them, and how our brain makes sense of it. This lesson pieces together the components of human visual perception, and includes a fun and engaging classroom activity that allows your class to view optical illusions and further investigate the human visual system. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1M15DXU">http://to.pbs.org/1M15DXU</a></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-91398050594788121582015-09-28T15:19:00.000-07:002015-09-28T15:20:05.133-07:00Hispanic Heritage Month at PBS<span style="font-size: large;">Who were the people that lived here before Europeans first explored America? In this episode of Crash Course, students get an enlightening U.S. history lesson presented by John Green, who talks about the Native Americans who lived in what is now the U.S. prior to European contact. Green starts the lesson by shedding light on the established way of life of American Indians prior to colonization, and later, discusses what life was like during the first sustained European settlement in North America by the Spaniards. As Green describes, the Spanish have a long history with the natives of the Americas, and not all of it was positive – they were not known to be peaceful colonizers. Green then teaches students about early Spanish explorers, settlements, and what happened when they didn't get along with the indigenous people. WATCH: <a href="http://to.pbs.org/1L3FclF">http://to.pbs.org/1L3FclF</a></span>Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719799806835511493.post-88761900605088608152015-09-09T17:43:00.000-07:002015-09-09T18:01:24.441-07:00Antiques Roadshow Teaches Me History<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't watch tv. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wait--that's not true. I watch <i>Dr. Who</i>, and that's it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yiAsyS96RcIo3w93kGD9EXsvy3JIcarAuoN3fWJ0EPZyhaasxq_T85kilFmEu-J2JvLyxoOxokPB5YLAFc_pCNB0U9uWeZ4Ffh4dSdLa2Q1vW12SmlhdG0mwBewxnNOpKBSCHVp84G8/s1600/Christopher-Eccleston-Doctor-Who-Season-1-Tardis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yiAsyS96RcIo3w93kGD9EXsvy3JIcarAuoN3fWJ0EPZyhaasxq_T85kilFmEu-J2JvLyxoOxokPB5YLAFc_pCNB0U9uWeZ4Ffh4dSdLa2Q1vW12SmlhdG0mwBewxnNOpKBSCHVp84G8/s320/Christopher-Eccleston-Doctor-Who-Season-1-Tardis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my Doctor.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wait--that's not true either. Sometimes I will pretend NOT to watch <i>Antiques Roadshow </i>when my husband is watching it, but we both know better. I don't care about the ugly paintings people bought at garage sales, although I still catch myself exclaiming, "Ten thousand DOLLARS??? For that ? WHAT???" before going back to mindless clicking games on my computer. What I do enjoy are the stories. There are so many fascinating histories made personal with a trinket or a spoon or a chair. Sometimes you catch a doozy of a story:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During the Civil War, Union soldier Fernando Robbins was captured by the Confederates and imprisoned. Robbins kept a diary while in prison, writing about the conditions he faced and the people he met. He collected numerous other artifacts during his time in the South, including a small Confederate flag, a stencil of his name, and several pieces that he carved while in prison. These items were passed down through the Robbins family, along with a photograph that shows him in uniform. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 99, 193); color: #0463c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://to.pbs.org/1jbi2hp">Share this video from Antiques Roadshow</a></span> with your class as they examine some of these artifacts alongside appraisers. This “unique archive” offers an illuminating historical glimpse into the experiences of a Union solder who served time as a prisoner of war. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1JBI2Hp</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!</span></div>
Run away from Troublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02204446516263312254noreply@blogger.com0