Stepping out of comfort zones-

[Crankin]

Yes, the union was the thing I disliked most about teaching. Don't want to open up that subject here, though. In Arizona, a right to work state, I didn't have to join. No so, in MA. Of course, I'm an anomaly. I am all for merit pay, and in fact, was part of a state initiative that provided merit pay in Arizona. It provided a way for me to earn a lot more money at a time when I really needed to, as well as more professional development. I later did the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification during my last 10 years of teaching and I was able to use the extra salary the state of Massachusetts paid me for this, to pay for my son's college education. I don't know why teachers feel it's "bad" to earn more money for improving your skills and doing more work. I worked hard for that money and I think skills I gained benefited my students. Part of the reason I like doing fee for service work in my new field is that I am in total control of how much I make, and it makes me plan thoughtfully about how much I want to work, in order to meet my productivity requirements.

[Veronica]

I really dislike our union. They always come across as very confrontational and I have never felt they represented my concerns. Of course, they believe they represent the concerns of the majority and I really don't fit in.

There are some teachers at our school who are not changing with the times. Our clientele has changed dramatically since the school opened and they refuse to change. Or they are incapable of it. The reality is test scores are important whether we like it or not. I do believe you can teach students to be good thinkers and still have them do well on tests. The union protects these teachers who have demonstrated sub par testing performance over SEVERAL years. My last class came to me with fewer than 50% Proficient in Lang. Arts and several students scoring Below Basic or Far Below Basic. When they left me I had the same group at 83% Proficient and the the other 17% had all risen to Basic. My current crop of 4th graders is even worse. The average reading range in my class is 2.9 - 4.3.

The teachers below me are still doing the things that worked when our students had all attended preschool, and had parents who could help them. They don't want to change "what they have always" done. It's frustrating. I'd love to have a class like I had 20 years ago - very little blurting out, kids knew their basic facts, knew how to read... But that's not our reality.


Veronica

[Crankin]

I don't miss all of that... I was an outlier, too.

[Veronica]

It's funny, but now that I have a handle on how to teach this group, I am really enjoying them. Some of them don't have a lot of "raw material" to work with, and they are so socially immature; but they do want to learn.

They thrive on anything that gets them talking and moving. They love being read to. I wish I never had to lecture.

Veronica