My 2010 Journey Begins

I am once again privileged to have been nominated to run for Vice-President/President Elect of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association. I have enjoyed my year as Vice-President and feel I have the experience, skills and passion to be your President in 2011.
I have used the theme of a journey when campaigning for Vice-President of NBTA. When I looked up the meaning of the word ‘journey’ there are two that suit my situation. Journey means to travel or passage from one place to another or a passage through life. This theme suits me because I love to travel, I love to learn and my involvement with NBTA has been a journey.
Being President of NBTA was not a goal of mine 10 years or even 5 years ago. I am in the fairly unique position of being an administrator of a small school so I teach 70% of my day. Over the past 5 years I have come to the realization that, although there are many changes that need to be made in the education system in New Brunswick, teachers have the knowledge and ability to bring about these changes. I also believe that it is only through the collective voice of NBTA that the voices of individual teachers will be heard. I believe I would be a strong voice for teachers on the provincial front.
On my campaign, my goal is to visit as many schools in New Brunswick as I can with the intention of meeting as many of you as possible. These face-to-face meetings with teachers give you the opportunity to connect me to my face on a poster and to hear why I believe I am your best choice for Vice-President/President Elect of NBTA. More importantly, though, I am able to talk with teachers to learn about the challenges and successes in your schools and in your classrooms. As a result, I am better able to understand the realties of teachers in all areas of the province.
Understandably, meeting all teachers is not an easy feat. Time is the biggest obstacle since I only have a limited number of days to visit schools and time during the teaching day is a precious commodity for teachers.
Therefore, I am very appreciative of principals who understand the value of teachers meeting the candidates, one of whom will be their official representative with the Department of Education, in the next round of negotiations and in the news.
I am grateful to the teachers, often NBTA school reps, who take the time in their already-busy day to introduce me to their colleagues.
I thank teachers who take a quick break in their day to allow me to introduce myself, to tell them a bit about me and to take the opportunity to inform me of concerns they have.
I hope to meet you on my journey!