This is an important notice from LeboALERT.
Rising MLHS juniors or seniors may apply by July 1 to be next year's jr.commissioner. http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3998
This position is available to ALL Mt. Lebanon juniors or seniors, not just Mt. Lebanon High School students! Our first junior commissioner was a student at Seton La-Salle. The second year of the program, our PIO tried to open it up to only Mt. Lebanon High School students. We can't do that, Susan. We have lots of private schools, charter schools, and cyber school students who can also apply.
Don't let the LeboALERT discourage rising Mt. Lebanon juniors or seniors not attending Mt. Lebanon High School. If you click on the link, it does not specify that you must be a Mt. Lebanon High School student. It is a wonderful program and I encourage you to apply.
Update June 20, 2013 2:40 PM Much better, Susan.
This is an important notice from LeboALERT.
Rising juniors/seniors who live in Mt. Lebanon may apply be Jr. Commissioner.
http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3998
Dear Ginny [Elaine]:
ReplyDeleteThis blog [PIO] frequently conveys misinformation about both the school district and the municipality.
Best regards,
Susan Morgans [someone who is not as intelligent, well educated, articulate, well groomed, exhibit leadership qualities and, above all, as interesting as Susan is]
Touche. :)
ReplyDeleteElaine
Junior commissioner is a waste of everybody's time.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, but I think it is an excellent opportunity for young people to get involved with government. I wish we could have more than two per year based on the applicants so far.
ReplyDeleteElaine
I wish my borough had something like this when I was growing up, as I believe this is an incredible learning tool. They should have a Jr. Commissioner for every ward in Mt. Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteTHEN, DAMION, THE COMMISSIONERS COULD RUN FOR A BABY SITTING POSITION. I LIKE THAT IDEA, IT MIGHT KEEP THEM AWAY FROM TURF.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Damion except that the in crowd would stack the Jr. Commissioners with their picks and eventually find a way to associate grants or scholarships with the position.
ReplyDeleteHello Damion,
ReplyDeleteI think that you are spot on! In fact, I would go one step further and say that not only is the junior commissioner concept an excellent opportunity for our future leaders to learn about the structure of government, but the Mt Lebanon School District should integrate Elaine's blog into their civics curriculum.
Like it or not, social media has already changed politics forever. In my opinion, the SD could show children the power of free speech and the right to vote.
The kids should also learn more about the mechanics behind the scenes of municipal government. For instance, people who make promises that they renig on and how they still get what they want at the expense of the entire community.
Yes children, you can be a future commissioner, or you can be like your teacher - a big fat protected union mouthpiece who has never worked a day in his or her life but lives with more than generous accommodations the same way that every parasite lives off of a host - and it has become the role of our local government to preserve their lifestyle while the community goes broke.
You have to admit, it makes one hell of a lesson in civics!
11:35 you had me with you until the fourth paragraph.
ReplyDeleteTeaching isn't an extremely tough occupation from my experience but there are as in every job, some that do it very, very well. Then their are others that get by.
I liked the part about a course being incorporated lnto student curriculm on social media. Many school districts are doing just that around the country. Lebocitizens, Bloglebo, Center Court, Lebomag, RealLebo, Lebofields, ValueMtLebanon would make interesting subjects. Trouble is creating such a course is too 21st century for most of our teachers.
At the risk of instigating further rage from 11:35 it appears there is a pinch of truth in their comment if this article is to be believed.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very interesting article since we're in a period of raising salaries and looking to Harrisburg to send more money and more money to our schools.
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/a/SB10001424127887323836504578551904167354358?mg=reno64-wsj
Jeeze, 11:35 PM, when I teach my sewing classes, I am exhausted when I get home. And I am working with people who paid to be there. I have to disagree with what you said about teachers. They are just doing their jobs. I think there should be a distinction made between the teachers and the teachers' union. I have to believe that just like the majority of residents in Mt. Lebanon, teachers don't have time to get involved with the politics. I believe it is the union politics that gives teachers a bad rap. They have no control, just like we have no control over our elected officials.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 11:35 PM, come to a commission meeting during the interview for junior commissioner. It is heartwarming to watch these young people in action.
Elaine
Elaine,
ReplyDeletea) How do we make a distinction between the teachers and the union they support?
b) How do we distinguish between the 177 teachers involved in the grievance and those who are not.
c) They go on strike together.
d) So they all get a bad rap.
I am sympathetic to your thought but I don't know how to separate the two.
9:03 PM, from what I understand, MTLSD teachers have no choice. They are required to join and pay dues to the MLEA, which is an arm of the PSEA, which in turn is part of the NEA. The MLEA membership then elect their local officers [the MLEA president is also a MLEA paid position (see the MLEA FORM 990 tax return on GuideStar.com) plus teaches only a half day (2 classes) but is paid as a full time teacher and is provided office space and equipment by the District].
ReplyDeleteMLEA teachers vote on all contract proposals and issues. They are assisted in contract negotiations by teams of Pittsburgh-based and Harrisburg PSEA HR and employment lawyer professional staffs.
The teachers vote, but some might claim they don't. When they strike, all members must participate, including demonstrations, picketing , etc., although a few who are uncomfortable are allowed to prepare and serve coffee and snacks to the pickets.
They are one in the same - teachers and the unions (MLEA->PSEA->NEA). They seek the union route because the pay and benefits are much greater, for tenure and union clout, including political, rather than the private school route whose teachers are equal or better.
It ain't all for the children !
This Is a perfect place to interject the argument that PA needs to become a right-to-work state. Teachers, if Elaine is correct and I basically agree with her, are separate from the teacher's union then they need to stop drinking the kool-aid.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2010/dec/17/robin-vos/state-rep-robin-vos-says-right-work-states-have-hi/
A Rutgers University economics professor, in apaperwritten for the institute, said right-to-work laws "are strongly correlated with faster growth" in real personal income. The paper, however, was written in 2006 and did not provide data.
The institute, using data from two federal agencies,tracked growth in real personal income from 1999 to 2009. It found the growth was 28.3 percent in right-to-work states and 14.7 percent in free-bargaining states.
Interesting stuff above, that one would think intelligent, educated people that are interested in bettering themselves and others would investigate.
Seriously, do the MTL teachers really believe that taxpayers here really want them to work for nothing?
Has the community never rallied to find the money or the means to make their jobs better?