Way,WAY off topic diatribe -was : Paying to present

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

In general, scholarly papers and journals have been proliferating,
and their prices have been steeply rising too.

The market has a way of curbing and encouraging demand, and supply.
And this is a prime if unfair example of the pricing mechanism.

It is not a perfect method.   To mention a different market pricing
 example,   and one that is attracting some disapprobation:  when the
 Harvard endowment investors are paid a princely wage, though this
 be indeed the going rate on Wall Street, their once grateful  alumni
 look askance, bequest-wise.

Or, more egregiously, if captains of industry find a way to be paid in the
 millions, in good years and bad, and can confect a pretty golden parachute
on the eve of being fired for their incompetence, the great unwashed small
investor, is not pleased.

The contrast between best-paid and worst paid American is striking,
in international terms. It contrasts starkly with the countries where the
 highest standards of living are said to exist.
One recalls the suggestion that this disparity was a factor in the French
Revolution.

   Diatribe into top gear |now|

[But I say only: Let them eat cake.  Things cannot be so bad
when the can-do folks of the Orl Bidness are at the helm, feathering
(or is it tarring) their respective nests with single-source contracts.
How different things would have been if the prototypical media
make do and mend Earth Mother had connections on the oil patch. ]

Still, to be publically punished in part for lying may be just the slap
on the gluteus that the aforementioned and mendacious captains need,
or certainly, deserve.....

    Diatribe to neutral |now|

Brian W

At 03:24 PM 3/5/2004, you wrote:
> Greetings everyone.  It has been a while since I've last posted, but
> something recently has been bothering me.  I have a situation that I
> would like some input on the topic and possible ways of addressing
> it, if any.  I may be in the wrong or may not: I just want to hear
> what everyone has to say about it.
>
> About a week ago, I was at a science conference as one of the
> presenters.  I was there just to present.  Shortly after I arrived,
> I was told that I needed to pay before I presented.  I was told
> that I needed to register before I could present and the
> registration fees were $140.00.  I tried  explaining that I'm
>  just here to present, not do anything else.  It apparently didn't
>  matter, so I paid and presented.
>
> Granted, I believe my school will reimburse me, but that is beside
> the point - especially considering the financial situations many
> of the schools are in.  What bothers me was that I was one of
> the few science teachers presenting and sharing my experiences
>  and ideas to help aid other teachers at their own schools.
>  I spent a huge amount of time and my own personal
> money to prepare so that the teachers will leave with a lot of
>  materials that they could use immediately in their own classroom.
>  On top of that,  driving about a 100 miles, my school having to
> pay for a sub, I even had to find someone that I could stay with,
> rather than staying at a hotel, so that I could make it more
> affordable for my school to allow me to leave and present.
> A couple of months earlier, when I was filling out the
> information about wanting to present and the details of my
> presentation, there was never  any mention on the form of
> payment.  So to arrive there, eager to present
> and share my information, and to have someone tell me right
> before I presentthat I need to pay them - it just ticks me
> off!   Is this a common practice?  If so, then I question
> whether or not I'll  present again - especially for them.
>  To me, it seems like common sense if not common courtesy,
> if someone is coming out of their way to present at a
> workshop/conference, you don=92t make them pay.
> If anything, you give them some sort of compensation/tokens/
> free meal for doing so.  To me, it is like  having a guest speaker
>  at a graduation commencement and right before they
> get on stage and give their speech, you tell them there is an
> entrance fee of $$$ into the building.
>
> Everything earlier aside, my workshop went very well.
>  My workshop was how to teach the concepts of flight
> (using inexpensive materials).  The room was  pretty well packed,
> but everyone was able to leave with all sorts of
> handouts, plans (hovercrafts, wind tunnels, ornithopters), gliders,
> solarballoons, boomerangs, etc.  I had several teachers that
>  attended  my  workshop tell me that mine was the most
> worthwhile they've attended.  When I  inquired what they
>  liked about it, the general statement was that I wasn't a
> salesperson trying to sell their product, instead I had materials
> that they could find at their local Wal-Mart, experience how
> they worked, and actual   things for them to take home to use
> immediately at their school.  For   example, I showed one of the
>  workshops how one of my classes built a wind  tunnel that listed
> for over a $1000.00 in a catalog and how we built the
> same thing very easily with materials around the house
> (total cost was $1.50).
>
> So I don't know if I'm just griping over nothing or what.
> In my mind, if   you want to attract more people to a science
>  teacher conference, you make it   worthwhile for those who are
> coming to present (especially if they are  teachers) - this could also
>  be a reason why the numbers have been steadily decreasing.
>
> Thanks for listening to my griping,
> Dwight Souder
> Ashland, OH
> HYPERLINK
> "http://www.crestview-richland.k12.oh.us/HS/Faculty/Souder/myweb4/index.htm";
>  <http://www.crestview-richland.k12.oh.us/HS/Faculty/Souder/myweb4/index.htm>



Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!