Hello IEA.
This is the first post to an interactive blog as we continue our organization’s quest to promote fair school funding for all public schools and higher education institutions in Illinois.
The key word is INTERACTIVE. This site is intended to be a useful destination for members of the IEA family who want to share and learn about the Invest In Excellence initiative.
You don’t have to write like J. Rowling in order to play. We don’t expect doctoral dissertations or perfect prose. The idea here is to share ideas that work, to create a learning community. Frankly, we’d rather have a bunch of short posts (with methods of obtaining more information) than long ones that people won’t read.
So send us your stuff — your ideas, your successes, your comments, your challenges, etc., in relation to the IIE campaign. We’ll publish just about anything that a reasonable IIE team (very loosely defined) would find interesting and/or useful for sharing. Also, please sign your stuff so people will know who to contact if they want to talk about it.
That’s it. We hope this works. We think it’s worth a try.
In Solidarity,
Bob Ray, Dave Rathke, Kathy Vigardt
5 Comments
November 12, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Great! As with all the new capacity and opportunity technology brings, it will be up to interested parties to use it. I hope this is successful, and I plan to participate here regularly as both a reader and contributor if this thing flies. Given all of the efforts over the last couple of years, I am not sure that issues surrounding funding, organizing and IIE have been processed completely enough. Hopefully this venue will become a place for that to occur.
November 15, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Great! Welcome to the (I hate the term, but here I go anyway) blagosphere.
As a local president and a blogger (www.preaprez.wordpress.com) for four years, I’m glad to see you join in.
Thinking about the amazing Obama campaign, what can we learn about building a successful movement?
A couple of lessons:
Top down AND bottom up.
Innovative use of technology.
Build it everywhere.
Never assume where people stand.
-Fred Klonsky
Park Ridge Education Association
November 16, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Thanks, Fred. We hope this thing takes off.
November 17, 2008 at 11:57 am
I think that it is very hard to step back from the immediate demands of the job, whether it is IEA staff or members. While most folks feel that how schools are funded is screwy, I don’t think there is much optimism that it will change. Our option of funding needed changes through a tax increase rather than property taxes seem not to get a lot of traction, in part because folks feel like they will pay more taxes and still pay high property taxes. This is especially true in areas, like my region, where schools are relatively well-funded. They don’t feel enough hurt to be motivated to take a risk on change.
Michelle Couturier
November 18, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I was at the capital when educators marched for funding and I was proud to be there. I was totally disappointed when nothing else was planned after that. One of the comments I heard while waiting to march was that some teachers weren’t participating because they were scared to jeopardize their jobs. I didn’t understand that comment. I tried to hold a meeting for my county before the march and two teachers came from my district and only one from two other districts showed up. Does anyone out there have a plan in place to fairly distribute the money from taxpayers? Property owners are tired of footing the bill. The way schools are funded was set up decades ago and the state should fund the schools not property owners. If the teachers don’t care enough to change the way schools are funded then the government isn’t going to ruffle any feathers either. Everyone should watch Iron Jawed Angels to see how hard it is to change the male dominated government. But they did get the vote and I thank them. The lessons to be learned from them are have a GOAL, never give up and be persistant. So far I haven’t heard of a new and improved plan to fund schools, I lost interest when nothing else was planned but that one march.