“A View from Here” will become a column in the paper in January.
Let me introduce myself and tell you my background. We’re all a mash-up of our past experiences in life and our personal history, so perspectives and views are framed by our life experiences and I’m no different.
I’d like to share a little about myself because it frames who I am and why “A View from Here” might be of interest and challenge some current thinking. That’s been one of my functions through out life. I’m the person in the group who has asked the questions when no one else would. I wonder if I was one of those children who asked, “why” repeatedly. Probably so. Here’s the short story about me.
1. Personal stuff: I was born, raised and live in Southwest Iowa (mostly Montgomery and Adams counties with a brief stint in Fremont County). Both sides of my family have lived in Southwest Iowa since the 1880s. I’m a product of K-12 public education (Villisca Community Schools)—yes, I know all about the axe murder. I remember where I was when JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated and Ronald Reagan was shot. I remember the first moon walk and, “One small step for man. One giant step for mankind.”
I’m ISU Alum (Go Clones!) and attended ISU when women weren’t part of the marching band except for the baton twirler and women athletes didn’t get scholarships; then Title IX came along. “We’ve come a long way, baby!” sort of. Daughter Kate and her family live in Gretna, Nebraska, where she is a public-school teacher. Her husband works for Schwab, and granddaughter, CJ is in fifth grade. I’m an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Villisca, and a life-long member.
2. Professional stuff: I taught and coached in two Southwest Iowa public schools—Farragut and Corning. I started the volleyball programs in both. I’m a mom, grandma and a divorced woman. I was a teacher association bargainer when we still had real collective bargaining. I served on the National Education Association Board of Directors representing Iowa as a teacher leader. I served on several state boards in the education community and civic capacity. I was a public-school employee advocate (UniServ Director) in suburban and rural Iowa for over 26 years. I have been part of a statewide Labor-Management Committee and a statewide task-force at the department of education. I serve as the state clerk of the Presbytery of Missouri River Valley based in Omaha, and home office using fantastic fiberoptics.
3. Other Stuff: I’m mayor of Nodaway elected initially by write-in; they didn’t ask before they did it. I founded a non-profit organization to address student and community food insecurity. I’m a trained mediator. I love asking questions. I read legislation, consider myself a political “junkie,” and watch the news. We live in historic times. I’m a life-long learner to remain informed and figure out why things are happening. We need to start listening to one another and stop looking for fights. I’m a registered Democrat. I ran for Iowa House of Representatives because I thought voters should have an option. I lost the election.
So, what does any of that mean? Opinions may be expressed that might be different from others. It’s OK to disagree, and we don’t need to be disagreeable. Wouldn’t it be great to
listen to each other and learn? It’s time to talk with each other and not at each other. Let’s do that together. That’s “The View from Here.”