Yesterday, a sociology major from the Ohio State University interviewed me for her Sociology of Educational Philosophy class. One of the questions she asked was about my vision for how this organization can affect the future of education. This question led to a discussion of our recent state convention and our theme for that event – Writing the Next Chapter.
My vision, I told her, is that we be a proactive organization that recognizes the changes in our society and how those changes impact the way our students learn, and then use our professional knowledge and experience to shape the learning environments of our students. Too often we are forced into a reactive mode because of our political circumstances and we end up looking like barriers to progress in education when, in reality, we are the ones who have the solutions. We are the experts in the field. We know our students better than anyone. We are in the classroom to experience what works and what doesn’t work. We need to create our vision of education reform. We need to write the next chapter and then work to make it happen.
Before writing the next chapter, we need to have a thorough understanding of current reality and then reflect on what we need to do as individuals and as OFT locals to deal with this reality. That is what we started doing at convention last month. Throughout the convention, we looked at different topics ranging from a reflection on ourselves as public employees to changes in how people communicate to social issues to education issues. We went a step beyond just listening to people talk about these topics. We had discussions with the speakers and looked at how we can have an impact in these areas. We examined how we can better use social media to spread a message. We discussed using issues such as school funding or value added to mobilize members. We explored how to connect with the community through issues such as healthcare or the effects of budget cuts on local communities. We talked with a parent activist about how to work with families to help our students succeed. We looked at ways to build our worksite leader structure to strengthen our locals. We found ways to make each of us - individually and collectively - stronger and more effective.
The next step is to actually start writing that next chapter – to take everything we know and turn it into what we want to see. This involves examining and maybe changing our structures within our locals to allow for more effective work to be done. It involves planning around issues and then following through on those plans. It involves setting goals for how we envision the future, then making sure we are equipped with the right professional development, knowledge and skills for making that vision our next reality.
I challenge you to begin this work and to share your work. I want to hear your successes, your struggles, your challenges, your solutions and your concerns.
I am offering two new opportunities for these types of conversations. The first opportunity is for our local presidents. As presidents, you shoulder a huge responsibility for leading your locals. Beginning in April, we will host a monthly Presidents’ call. This will be an opportunity for you to receive updates on OFT business and important legislative and education issues as well as to share your concerns or ask questions.
Beginning today, you will be able to access my new blog, “Writing the next chapter” at mcropperblog.wordpress.com. On this blog, you will be able to leave comments and share your thoughts. I encourage you to interact in this way and to also share this blog with others. The first blog is actually a condensed version of this article, so if you want to comment, please visit the blog and talk with me. Together we will work on writing the next chapter.