College... So Why Did I Earn My Degree?

I wanted a change. Teaching 8th grade Language Arts was holding me hostage. On a typical day, I instructed, refined lessons before I taught, as I taught and after I taught. I read, edited, suggested, corrected, assigned rewrites, monitored, reviewed, and finally, adjusted future plans for instruction based on student need and improvement. In planning, I employed my favorite strategies utilizing multiple intelligences, forcing my students' to use multiple portions of their brain at every possible moment. I supervised, engaged, I maximized instruction so that learning was mandatory. No one, especially 8th graders, could escape my wrath. Nor could I escape theirs'.

Students' learned to write, and several each year, actually worked on their own, creating master pieces in pieces... pieces they wanted me to critique, in addition to the work load I already held. This action taken by a student, is the highest complement, the highest award, a teacher can ever receive. So what am I complaining about? It was my schedule. You see after everything, there was still more... meetings, usually three a week, student council (which I loved and miss), fundraisers, newspaper recognitions, hospitality, parties to plan and attend so that new teachers would become old teachers, etc..., etc...

My estimation is that most teachers work two extra days a week. English teachers probably double that. I was ready for a change, so in order to give myself the gift of more time, I changed jobs. Now I teach biology to freshman students. I don't hold a degree in Biology, but I do have 26 hours in science, 7 hours in nurse's training, and 22 hours in math. In addition, this is my 13th year as a teacher, not including substitute teaching time. To boot, now I have one years experience of 'on the job training' in bio, yet that is not enough to be labeled "Highly Qualified". That's OK with me. What isn't OK with me, is that a person holding a degree in Biology can teach biology and not hold a teaching credential, and yet, will be considered for a job in that field before I am.

I understand the concept behind this policy. After all, we do want teachers to be competent in the area in which they are teaching; however, what I don't understand, is why did I go to college to become a teacher? Why not get my degree in English, toodle around in my office, publish some work, and then pop myself into a classroom someday? Perhaps it may have been more fun that way.

As a teacher, I have learned through my career, through simple observation, through collaboration with my peers, and through debates during happy hour, that teaching is truly an art. I have always been an advocate for teachers no matter how they find themselves in the classroom. Teachers are people who have the ability to inspire students to not only learn, but to become life long learners. And for those who struggle, teachers help bring understand as to why someone is in a classroom, and why participating will serve as beneficial.

Today we have a situation in education, where teachers are being booted because they lack a certain credential, while those that don't hold a teaching certificate from an accredited university, are given leeway, and first priority in employment.

Teachers like me are being punished because some tenured teachers are, and always have been, ineffective. We all know who they are. They are people who enter the classroom, certificated or not, allow foul language to fly, allow regular naps, look the other way when conversations employ verbiage about last nights date (perhaps even on the cell phone), I could go on... Many of these people have the audacity to admit that they are only in teaching for the time off and the paycheck. The paycheck? They are stupid people. Or maybe not... they still have a job.

Any how, enough of the negative or perhaps, just interesting observations. A door has been opened for me. Now it is time to step through and accept the gifts that are destined to come my way. I'm actually curious and looking forward to what lay ahead. Hm...