Addendum

I received an excellent email from one of my good friends, Suspect Bob, about this glorious MEA weekend I had mentioned.

Quoted email-
I would think some commentary could/should have been made regarding the fact that almost NO ONE is using MEA for it's intended purpose...

He brings a very good point. While everyone is going in a million different directions, pretty much no one actually goes to the conference that is responsible for this long weekend.

In order to uphold my standard of high quality rambling that I hold myself to for this column, I decided crank up the old research engine to 11. Asking the best resource available to me, Ma Retrum, I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

First a bit more background on what exactly MEA is, for those who don't know. It's a professional conference for educators in the state of Minnesota. It features educational vendors, nationally recognized speakers, meetings and workshops, networking opportunities, and a host of other events.

To be completely honest with everyone, I have not been to one since I became an educator, although I did tag along with my mom several times when I was younger. Also, some of the staff at school I spoke with at school were planning on attending. Another good friend and educator, FBIke, is a yearly attendee. So it's not like everyone is skipping out on it, tho I'd say certainly the majority do.

Why don't more educators participate? Ma Retrum and I agree on a number of reasons.

First and foremost, It's two days off. Most people I know, regardless of profession, will take a couple of days off when offered. Teachers value their time off as much as the next person. Many of them have school age children themselves, and it's a chance to spend time with the whole family together.

Another reason I believe is that, while the speakers change and booths come and go, it largely stays the same from year to year. I do notice a lot of younger teachers do attend, and I think they stop attending when they realize that it will be much the same as it's always been.

And finally, for some professional development is just not a priority. I think everyone at their places of work can identify people that are content to get by with what they know, and feel they don't need to improve themselves. Teachers are no different in this regard. It's disappointing when you look at it that way, but it's the truth, I feel. Especially when this weekend is an unpaid one for teachers. I know many teachers will attend conferences during the year, as long as there is some compensation for their time and effort.

There are other reasons, but those are probably the big three. Educators are people too, for good and for bad.

Special thanks to Suspect Bob for watching the watchman, so to speak.

If anyone has any comments on anything I've written, or has something they would like to see discussed, feel free to leave a comment or a TagBoard message. I'd love to get more feedback.