Real People

[LWolf]

10. Someday,

if I can ever afford to retire, I'm going to run for my local school board. Right now I teach in the district that I live in. Even if I didn't, I don't see how I could find any more time for another job, since the one I've got takes so much more time than my "contractual day," and so much of my private life is given over to it.

Still, I agree with what you are saying about "community control." I've been privileged to work in schools that have stronger than usual community ties and participation. My current school is a rural school and serves as a center for the community to gather for all kinds of things besides education. I'm also privileged to have community volunteers who show up, year after year, whether their kids still attend our school or have moved on. The community spirit in our little rural school stands out in our wide-flung district, and our school board and superintendent take notice.

Meanwhile, I hope that people keep talking about Sanders. I see it as a healthy thing. This is the only place I really have political conversations; that mantra I was raised on is deeply embedded: keep religion and politics out of public conversations. I want to help keep Bernie at the forefront of the nation's political conversation, though, so I may have to come out of my real-world political closet for awhile.