Greetings!
This has taken forever to get to my first blog. Like Starbucks Coffee there are just way too many choices.
To the point ~ Why would anyone want to be a School Trustee? Apparently in Delta - 20 people do. I'm looking forward to the candidates' meetings in order to find out their reasons.
Here are mine:
1. I've always wanted a cause - not being female, person of colour, LBGT or physically handicapped - and the fight to overcome ignorance is close to my heart.
2. As a teacher I've often felt like a character in someone else's dream, or nightmare. I want to be one of the dreamers so I can be a character in my own dream. Its a good one.
3. For education in BC to be truly 'public' people must participate actively. Otherwise it would just be 'government controlled' education instead of 'public' education.
4. I don't have the answers, but I ask the right questions. EG: "Who is it for?" and "If educating the masses is expensive, what is the cost of ignorance?"
5. Our system can become a well-oiled machine, but where is it going? This is a question trustees must address, because elected trustees represent the community.
6. As a community, if we do not USE this role we will lose it.
So, it appears that some of my friends are a tiny bit infuriated by my decision to run on a slate with Nick Kanakos and Dale Saip. Apparently this is seen as my having:
ReplyDeletea) lost my mind
b) gone over to the dark side or
c) don't know what on earth I'm doing
Actually it has been quite a careful decision. The REAL team is a partnership. We differ in many ways, but what we do share is a passionate commitment to the continued welfare of Delta students and Delta public schools. I feel it is right and proper that the Delta board of education has trustees from different walks of life and from different parts of Delta. Dale and I have worked together on the board for 6 years. We may have disagreed on how to get there, but we never disagree on the goal. School board work should never be governed by the extreme polarities of BC Provincial politics. Anyone who is a friend of Delta public schools is a friend of mine. I'm proud of the record of this board - we have worked well together.
I believe that Delta needs more of this kind of thinking - working together towards a common goal. Our three distinct communities have tended to fracture us. Next time someone starts telling you something you absolutely do not want to hear - try listening. Listening when you disagree shows a high level of respect for the other person. It doesn't mean you have to change your mind one bit, but you will come to understand that person a little better. If more of us practise this skill we will arrive at better outcomes. An added bonus might be this: if you want someone to 'get' you, try listening to them first and see what happens. After a while they'll probably get curious and actually request your opinion, which would not have happened otherwise. Even if it doesn't work (and some people just NEVER listen to anyone ever) at least you will have learned something.
WARNING... There some people who function as 'energy drainers'. They can't help it. As a listener you might get trapped. The signs are: 1)You can't get a word in no matter how hard you try. 2) You feel increasingly exhausted. 3) The topic is of almost no interest to you at all. If this happens you must escape. Its not easy - these people are powerful. Resist the urge to throttle the person. Try saying you have to go to the washroom, or suddenly remember the time, "OMG! I'm so late for.....(fill in the blanks)" Its a white lie but hey, nobody gets hurt.
So anyway, that's why I'm running with Dale & Nick. They're definitely not in the energy drainer class. They know how to listen.