I'm one who believes that every so often you need to stop and assess where you are — call it reflecting or taking stock — this seems like the right time to do it for me.

Defining Excellence: I've written and spoken a great deal about taking charge of our professions, defining excellence and having a meaningful seat at the table. Washington has demonstrated that it is willing to provide the resources, but also wants to see new initiatives to close the achievement gap and address the national disgrace of a dropout rate above 30 percent; above 50 percent for children of color. While we must be part of the decisions that will define the future of education, I'm reminded by some leaders — and rightfully so — that we should not lose track of the need to provide the fundamentals as well. Rundown buildings, outdated textbooks, inadequate supplies, overcrowded classrooms and society's need to address the ills of poverty must also be addressed if we expect innovation and reform to have a lasting effect.

Budget Cuts: When I try to imagine achieving excellence in light of the governor's midyear budget cuts, my reflecting gets a bit heated! Taking more than a billion dollars out of schools, colleges and vital health programs would create chaos and suffering. It would put an unnecessary burden on local property taxpayers and would hamper New York's economic recovery by forcing the elimination of jobs in all of our professions — jobs vital to the economies of many local communities. On our own and working in coalition with other like-minded organizations, NYSUT will continue to fight back.

NYSUT leaders have been in legislative offices and at legislative hearings to make our case — your case — that these cuts will hurt children and patients. Rallies around the state have called attention to the fact that public higher education has already been bludgeoned by budget cuts. Unfortunately, our governor continues to fail to understand that our great system of colleges and universities will be needed to lead the way to an economic turnaround. Let's hope others are reflecting on this as the Legislature is scheduled to reconvene this week.

H1N1: Parents, health care workers and educators have a lot to think about when it comes to the serious impact of H1N1. We continue to monitor the spread of the H1N1 flu and its impact on the students and patients with whom we work. While we are pleased that the Paterson administration has given up its plans to mandate that state health care workers — including many NYSUT members — be vaccinated, we remain concerned about the spread of this flu and the inadequate supply of the H1N1 vaccine. Advocating for greater availability and educating the public requires that we be thoughtful in our work and avoid the hysteria on which many in the media thrive.

Election Day: Talking about hysteria in the media! This was expected to be a quiet political year. It wasn't. When we look back at the results of Nov. 3, we see two interesting twists worth reflecting on. In New York's 23rd Congressional District, NYSUT initially endorsed the Republican candidate, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, a longtime, effective public servant with a moderate, labor-friendly voting record. But the national right-wing ideologues who continue to run roughshod over the Republican Party made it clear that there is no room for moderates — let alone progressives — in the party of Lincoln. Scozzafava dropped out of the race after these national ideologues pummeled her and poured millions into the campaign of the Conservative Party candidate. NYSUT is proud of our decision to reenter the race on the side of the eventual winner, Democrat Bill Owens, a newcomer with real potential. We're proud of the recognition we're getting for our role in his election. Yet, we can't help but wonder about the impact this will have on progressive-thinking future candidates in the Republican Party. If we are to remain bipartisan, we'll need progressive candidates in both parties to be willing to step up to the plate.

The second interesting twist this year: incumbency. Whether they lost or came close to losing, incumbents like Jon Corzine, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Suozzi found that incumbency doesn't guarantee reelection. I hope many of New York's incumbents will be reflecting on that as they enter the 2010 election cycle. 

Veterans Day: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq dominate the headlines as we think about our nation's future foreign policy. This week, however, should be about reflecting on those in the military, now and in the past, whose sacrifices create the opportunity for us to have a future to think about at all. I hope you take the time to read a nice piece on our service women and men in this issue of New York Teacher.

Tony Bifaro: Let me close with a tip of the hat to my assistant, Tony Bifaro, whose retirement we just celebrated. Tony helped build this union from its infancy. He helped guide me through my transition into the presidency. Tony and I would reflect a lot over coffee — and a cannoli, now and then — about NYSUT's past and future. We share a love for the poetry of Robert Frost, and I quoted Frost at his celebration.

As I end this column, I think the same lines apply to all of us as, I hope, we find the time to reflect on the road ahead and our role in defining excellence in our professions:

"But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep."