Tag Archives: Vote

Do This, Not That: The Get Your Butt Out To Vote Edition

I’m a post-forty woman. In simple terms, that means that the checklist of things I do before I start my day looks like this: Open eyes. Put feet on floor. Get caffeine. Check social media.

Because I do the daily check-in on my Facebook feed and the other feeds as well, I have noticed something. While I am looking for cute pictures of your family, some of your great book recommendations, and even an article you might suggest for me to read, some of you are getting worked up. Like really worked up. And we’re all worked up about the same thing: schools.

Not that I blame you. I was recently hanging precariously out of my own tree. Last week, my brother posted a link to an article  TIme was going to run. In the actual article, Time reported about people working to reform schools by reducing or ending the practice of teacher tenure and highlighted a recent court case Vergara v. California about just this thing. The reporting was fairly balanced, but then Time decided to do something just plain dirty. It titled that article Rotten Apples and suddenly all the world’s, or in this case, the federal system of education’s problems were being blamed on bad teachers. I couldn’t help myself. My blood started boiling, so I shared that post on my wall.

Screen Shot 2014-11-02 at 10.06.34 AM There was even a hashtag #TIMEfail.  I was buoyed by the number of people who were with me. I wasn’t in a tree, I was in the same boat as lots of other people and we were all pulling the oars together. But here’s the thing: Facebook status updates don’t change the world, at least not the world of chalkboards and pencils. And tweets don’t move mountains. Most parents and educators are not bloggers and social media partakers like me.

My message was being heard but not by the right people. Social media may be a great first step and good for clearing the “pissed off” pipes, but it is not really action.  Social media can raise awareness and entice people to action (we’re looking at you, Ice Bucket Challenge), but it lacks gravitas and doesn’t inspire commitment over time.

In the spirit of “Do this, Not that,” here are 3 things, you can do that really can change the world, or at least your school. At the very least, it will keep that boat to keep on keeping on in the right direction.

Don't Just Grouse on Social Media, Take Action---Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

1. Get involved. Instead of just grousing on social media about the crappy fields your kids are forced to play on, make sure you are part of the solution. Join the PTO. Help raise money. Volunteer at school or choose to be part of the home solution. A huge portion of what schools and teachers get blamed for are things we as parents should be taking care of at home. Keep your ship in top shape and that will help too.

2. Take that commitment to the next level. You can attend Board of Education meetings or School Improvement Team meetings. Never underestimate that your presence doesn’t matter at these. These are definitely instances where bodies matter. Who fills a chair better than you?

3. Vote. Mid-term elections aren’t sexy, but they are necessary. Take time to figure out who is more than just a sympathetic ear to those making educational decisions. Find your players. Find those willing to die on the sword of education. These are your people.Tweet and Facebook that you support them and spread the word.

Then do this: go out and vote. Demonstrate you are paying attention to what is being said about and done for our children.  If the children of your county are not being funded as the main priority (like ours aren’t), take that anger to the polls and do some damage where it hurts.

Show your local government leaders that in your mind and heart there is nothing else to do but that. Make yourself heard and not just on social media. On that note, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.—Margaret Mead

The following is for our local readers: I happened to go to a community meeting recently in which our school superintendent basically said that there are no more corners to cut, no more coupons to collect, and no more creative accounting to make the education budget work. The consistent underfunding of our local schools has now created an unsustainable situation. There is nothing to be done but get mad, get out there, and get busy changing people’s minds about what an education is worth and what we are willing to pay for it. If we consistently pay lip service to the notion that education is important, but then are unwilling to back what we say with action, we’re doing a disservice not just to our kids today but to our county tomorrow. I trust my good friends and neighbors to do their part and invest in our future.

Get inspired and get out there.—Erin

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