Being A Delegate at the DNC

Deborah Barnes

What an honor it has been this week to serve as the only active public school teacher in Oregon to be a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. Despite the fact the Oregon delegation is on a different time zone and we are all running on about 3 hours of sleep a night, this is the most incredible event in the world to attend.

I am skyping the experience with my students back home in the classroom this week. It is a chance to show them that democracy can mean something personal. I am sharing what is happening behind the scenes to my future broadcasters. I talk about the CNN reporters who I have talked with and shared stories about my students and my program. I tell them about how many independent news folks from all over the world are here. I ask them to watch the convention from home. Hopefully, when they come into class in a few minutes, they will tell me they saw the Oregon delegation last night on one of the networks.

My students may not be on this field trip but their teacher is getting that once in a lifetime opportunity, a bucket list item, that I can share with them. I am proud to be a member of the Oregon Education Association. I am a proud teacher. I am a proud democrat. This week has brought memories to last a lifetime and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to share this with my fellow OEA members back home via tweets and Facebook posts. I am even more grateful to have had the opportunity to share all of this with my students back home.

Tonight, President Obama addresses the nation. I am hopeful his message will energize the next generation of dreamers...including some of my students back home.

By Deborah Barnes Sept. 06, 2012