Technology Is Your Friend and Mine

It's amazing what you can do online these days.  Today I renewed my teacher's license.  I can't tell you what a huge relief that was to me.  When I applied for it the first time, there was no online option, and the paper application process was a nightmare.  It took forever to fill out, forever to process, and the entire process was so unsatisfactory that the people in Jackson had barricaded themselves in their office with big, hostile signs on their door saying "Thou Shalt Not Enter" and "We Will NOT Process Hand-Delivered Applications."  Any encounter with the office of licensure was sure to end in tears and bloodshed, probably on both sides of the equation.  It was not uncommon to wait six weeks, get a license back and have it printed wrong leading to six more weeks of waiting and praying for a new one that was right.  Most people just took a day off school to go over to Jackson and "hand carry" their stuff to MDE (hence the nasty signs).

Today, I sat down, signed in to an account I had created the other day when I became aware of the website service, entered some information, and notified my Central Office when I was done.  They, having the hard copies on file for everything, were able to verify, and by some arcane ritual I don't understand, the necessary was invoked and I now have a shiny new license good for five more years.  No pain.  No blood.  No trips to Jackson.  No screaming into a phone.  I have the e-copy right now.  The actual paper document will get here when it gets here.  It's not as important as the electronic document right now, anyway, since the fact that it exists in the big computer at MDE is the thing that is of vital, earthshatteringly immediate need.

This is why technology is good.  Everything that has an application should have it online.  I know all about the risks of breach of confidentiality and your personal information going awry, but the speed factor in entry and processing really can't be over-praised.  What used to take SIX WEEKS (or more since this is the "busy season") took less than two full days.  Yay Tech. Yay, yay, yay.  Really.

I can sort of breathe again now.  Now that I know how to keep up with it, I can make sure it doesn't get to this crisis point again.  Because believe you me, buddy, it better not EVER get like it got Thursday again, or I'm going to have to be carried out on a stretcher.