[The following was written
by Dr. John Trotter in the Get Schooled blog of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Dr. Trotter writes regularly
on this blog, on this MACE website, TheTeachersAdvocate.Com, as well as on other site that are listed at the bottom of this
page.]
"Retired Educator":I know that you are just fishing for info, but I will
still answer you anyway.I am currently out of the country, but the MACE Office is fully manned (and "womanned")
every day!Just call the MACE Office and see that you will be fully assisted!Or, better yet, go
by the MACE Office in Fayetteville.Our Summer Hours are not until 11:00 PM and Midnight like during the school
year.We try to get out by 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM during the summer time.We are not fully staffed (yet
still staffed) on Fridays during the summer months.We are, as you can imagine, representing teachers all summer
in hearings.Unlike some organizations, we actually go to the hearings and fight like h_ll for the teachers instead
of twisting their arms to "just resign."I just submitted a new article the other day for the front
page to our website (www.theteachersadvocate.com) and will, at your behest, send some more to Renee via email.Renee,
Norreese, Jeff,Ben, Michael, et al., are at the office and are always glad to welcome anyone who shows up!
I am getting rejuvenated (spelled correctly?) right now.I am doing
a lot with my children too!During the school year, we put in so many hours that the children sometimes get short-changed,
it seems.Matt just emailed me today wanting to fly to Missouri to see a friend whom he met in Washington, D.
C. last week at a Leadership American Conference (on the FBI and CIA) at Georgetown University.His new friend
and family have invited him for a week to Branson, Missouri.I've written to him twice today, emphasizing that
his Grandmother was born a few miles away in Springfield, Missouri, the home of Ma Barker and Her Boys (notorious gang).Ha!My Frazier and Shackelford relatives hail from the Ozarks, home of some of the most fierce fighting
during (and AFTER) the Civil War.Add this DNA to the Dueling Alstons, and you see where I get all of my feistiness,
heh?Matt, by the way, was a "beast" (as one coach described him) in the 400 as a Freshman this year.
Robert, Matt's
older brother, will be attending an elite football camp (by invitational only) in Virginia this month.His highlight
video is available right below.
Rob gets much of his athleticism from his mom, although my senior year in high
school, I was the only "white boy" on the court with nine brothers in the opening game at the old Columbus Municipal
Auditorium.Jordan vs. Carver, 1971-72.I could handle a basketball, I might add.Always
had a little flavor!(Now I can hear the offended now, "Why does he mention color?"Because
I wanted to.Get over it.This is life!Ha!)
"Retired Teacher":Thanks
for asking about MACE.We are doing quite well, and we are not ashamed to say that we thank the Good Lord!MACE is sort of like the Educational Stature of Liberty.Send us your oppressed and huddled masses!Ha!Just for you, I think that I will send Renee a photo for the front page of TheTeachersAdvocate.Com.It will be a special photo of me enjoying the summer.When the school year begins, I will feel refreshed
and ready to kick some administrative a_s.I mean those administrators who abuse classroom educators!At
MACE, we protect and empower classroom educators...one member at a time!Tchau! (c) MACE, July 12, 2010.
