Mr. Flotron Goes To Washington
I was fortunate to attend the National Policy Seminar this year in Washington D.C. While in our nation’s capital, I not only was able to walk in the footprints of our founding fathers, but I was able to forge some footprints of my own.
After walking what must have been 25 miles over a 5 day span, I was able to meet and converse with some of our country’s political leaders to advocate for CTE. Although I say I was there for advocating, in reality, I was there to remind them of all of the positive things that CTE does for our communities, our states, and most of all, our country. In many ways I felt like I was trekking the halls of our Capitol selling the legislators something like water or oxygen, something that is so necessary for the survival of our country, that I didn’t really have to do much “selling” at all. It sells itself!
In the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jimmy Stewart’s character, Jefferson Smith says, “…once there were only causes worth fighting for.” Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you that there is no better cause to fight for than career and technical education. There was no fanfare, no marching bands or crowds, other than on the Metro, just a group of dedicated educators, passionately advocating for our programs to continue to receive the financial help from federal dollars like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. In these days of budget-tightening and program-cutting, we are always fighting for any dollars we can get, even though it may seem challenging. Like Senator Smith said in the movie, “…and you know that you fight for the lost causes harder than for any others. Yes, you even die for them…”
From February 28 until March 2, 2016, there were passionate CTE educators in Washington D.C. fighting for students and CTE programs across the nation, yes, even willing to die for what we whole-heartedly believe in.
Rich Flotron a 2016 Region III Fellow
Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Columbia Pictures