Today was kind of interesting day for me. I had the privilege of sitting on a panel with presidents and governors on the topic of education in our schools. Special thanks to Paul Simone for giving me this chance.
There were two things that really impressed me about the meeting. One was the amount of technology that came with the governors. Everything from blackberries that his and her staff were carrying to the special microphone splitter they brought so that the press could tap the sound system. What amazed me even more was how little the governor actually dealt with. In fact, other than holding a microphone, the governor didn’t do a thing with technology. If he had a question about his calendar, he asked someone. He didn’t pull out his own PDA.
I kind of wonder if this isn’t a sign that technology has come far enough to replace that person’s job. Perhaps it is just a time saver, but I would think anytime you add a middleman to something, it adds time to the process as a whole. Maybe not time to the governor though.
The other thing that I should have seen coming more than I did, was what I felt kind of a disappointment. I am used to attending board meetings and business meetings where things are actually accomplished. To me, for as high up as these people are, felt like a waste of their, and my time. Nothing was truely accomplished, and I’m not sure anything that was said would truly make a difference. No one really took notes (although the cameras documented it well). Some things were said that were good points, but nothing that really hasn’t been said before.
That said, it reminded me how much the role of governor (or president) is really a check sum and a guide more than someone who actually accomplishes anything. He/She has no real power to make law. They simply can stop law, and thereby influence the people who are making it. For this reason, I would really love to have been sitting in on a day long meeting about actually trying to come up with a solution for the problem at hand.
I could be entirely wrong, perhaps something someone said rang home for the governor, and he will remember it tomorrow or the day after as something he wants to hold when he decides what to veto regarding education.
On a closing note, this event really brought to my attention that this site is lacking the ability to share images in any sort of useful way. It always has. I don’t think it’s something I want to do daily like Alex and John do, but it would be nice to be able to share some of the photos with you. Perhaps tomorrows post…