Volume 5 Issue 9 .....………………………………….………………………………………………………………..April 2007

Mississinewa Teacher Wins ISTA Award

Janna Armstrong, 6th grade science, language arts, and computer teacher at Mississinewa, is this year’s winner of the ISTA Multimedia/Technology Award to be presented at the Representative Assembly April 28. In her 3rd year at Mississinewa, Mrs. Armstrong had each of her three science classes work on a paper recycling project, which involved the students managing school-wide collection boxes for each room, determining and charting the various outputs and then creating a slideshow and a webpage. When asked about the project, Mrs. Armstrong said, “I’m excited for the kids. It’s great to see them so excited. Also, this kind of competition is healthy for them.” You can see their website at http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mrsarmstrongrecycle. Congratulations, Janna.


What to Do in Case of Non-renewal

This is the time of the year that teachers whose administrators wish to cancel their contracts for next year will be informed. If you are in your first or second year in your school, you must have been evaluated before January 1st and must be officially informed of their desire not to have you back by May 1st. If you have been in the system longer, the timelines are not so specific but generally the same. If you are being fired or laid-off, you do have rights. Don’t be pressured into resigning until you have thought things through! Contact Val immediately to discuss your rights and your options. You can always resign. Once you resign, there is nothing we can do. Val’s office number is 800-434-1175 or 765-662-1244.

New Travel Savings Available

In an effort to continue to bring savings to members, your Access card, which is your membership card, now offers greater ease of getting online travel discounts. You can find this new service on the Access savings section of the ISTA website, www.ista-in.org Once you have logged in, you can either click the “Hotel & Travel Services” link or the new graphic introducing the Access Online Travel Service Center. Happy Savings!


Conner’s Corner

In this country April represents Tax Time. Bemoaning taxes has become a national pastime. The litany involves how much is required, how little everyone one else pays compared to the bemoaner, and how little bang we get for our hard-earned bucks. Unfortunately, too many people actually buy into the taxes-are-evil-and-so-is-government hoax. In reality, those of us who can’t buy and sell the universe need the social contract represented by taxes.

Think of a world without taxes and, by extension, government: The few roads in existence would require hefty tolls; there’re be no law enforcement or fire protection except for the private forces employed by and for those rich enough to fund those forces; all the schools would be private and, by natural extension, exclusive and probably unaccredited; there’d be no regulatory agencies to protect us from contaminated meat, drugs, and engineering as well as from unlicensed charlatans and quacks. (We already have a glimpse of this with the inadequate reactions of FEMA and DEA which are woefully under-funded.) Life would truly be a matter of buyer beware and everyone for himself.

Instead, in this country we have the opportunity to participate in a social contract for the advantage of all. When everyone pays his fair share of taxes, the needed government services not only exist but create a just society, which maximizes the opportunities and protects us all. The key, of course, is “fair share.” In general, those that have more should pay back more to the system that allowed them to get more. Through participation in the political system, we have the opportunity to insist on that system. Without the pooling of the public’s resources through taxes, the world would be a very unfair, dangerous place.

The Association is similar. By pooling their dues, education professionals participate in a system dedicated to maximizing their students’ opportunities and their own careers. Without the pooling of members’ dues and activism, public education would be unfair to students and educators alike. Without the advocacy of the Association, you’d have no licensure requirements, so anyone could “teach”; you’d have no due process job protection; many disadvantaged students would have little or no schooling; and you’d have no say in how your school is run. Both in education and in society, you get what you pay for. So, we should cheerfully pay what is our due for the opportunity to develop an even playing field for educators and citizens.
Val

 

Indiana State Teachers Association, 1800 North Wabash Road, Suite 203, Marion, IN 46952
765-664-1244, 800-434-1175