A man with a mission

NEA Today, Jan 2000

the stroke of midnight on December 31, you won't find Tom vogel celebrating the next millennium. January 1, 2000, says Vogel, is a year too early for celebration. "We shouldn't be celebrating the millennium until 2001." says the West Virginia math teacher. "And we shouldn't teach our kids something that's fundamentally wrong."

Vogel feels so strongly about the issue that he drafted a new business item about it for consideration at the NEA Representative Assembly last July in Orlando. In a close vote, delegates aopted the item, which calls on NEA to promote the mathematical "true beginning" of the millennium.

Back home, Vogel continued to swim against the tide, writing letters to local newspapers and television stations, as well as to national programs and notables like "Dateline" and President Clinton.

"It's all tied up in money," says Vogel. "Next year, we'll have the sequel, Millennium 2, and everyone will make more money."