The
2015-2016 school year will mark my sixth year of teaching. I’ve taught at
larger schools, small schools, rural, and city. While gaining my MSED, I was
completing long term sub assignments and regular subbing during the day while
taking classes at night. In addition, during my first five years of teaching, I
took, completed, and passed an EMT class. I volunteered (and still do) with a
local EMS agency that is in the same town where I currently teach.
It’s been a
joy to come back to teach at the school that taught me so much. While some of
it was not enjoyable, there are many moments of my educational career here that
inspired me to become a teacher. I had some pretty awesome educators who made
me want to learn more and dig more into what we were learning about. The
Librarian introduced me to “Outlander” and the wonderful world of baking. The
physics teacher hooked me on the idea that there was more to the world than
what was on paper, and my Social Studies teachers brought the past into the
present. They taught me the value of looking at the big picture, how the past
influences the future, and how to take joy from the little things. Without
them, I would probably have a clerical job, tucked away in some corner of an
office. Stuck in a cubicle and bored out of my mind.
Much to my chagrin,
I did not start out looking to go to college to become a teacher. My mother
pushed me to look into education programs. “You’ve never heard of a
20-something year old historian. Your father has a good job as a teacher. You
should look into that”. So I started looking into teaching degrees at different
colleges. Soon, three college applications were sent out and I patiently waited
to hear if I had been accepted.
As it turns
out, I was accepted to all three of the colleges I applied to. In the end, I chose
to go to a private college. Well known for its internship program, syncro team,
and smaller class sizes. Once there, it was only a couple of classes more to
also get Special Education certification. Our advisors told us that it would
make us more “salable”. I had room in my schedule and decided that I’d give it
a go.
It wasn’t
until I had started my student teaching placement for Special Education that I
fell in love with that realm of the educational world. I loved teaching Social
Studies, but I never knew that I would like teaching Special Education as well.
Along the way, I met some amazing women who really showed me the value of
education for ALL students and the care that goes beyond the teaching
requirements. Most of all, these women taught me that there is greater service
in serving those who don’t even realize what you are doing for them. They may
never know just how amazing they are.
After
graduating from undergraduate school, I was very fortunate to gain employment
in a school district just an hour from my home base. It was a rocky year and I
certainly learned a lot that had not been in my classes. There should have been
a workshop “How to Understand School
Politics and Administration”. At the end of that year, I was laid off due to
budget cuts. It was tough, but I figured that I was young and this wouldn’t be
the end of the world.
I was engaged as a home tutor for a short period of
time before I got a job as a long term sub at a city school district. I
co-taught with an amazing teacher. It blew my other co-teaching experiences out
of the water. I worked with an educator who loved his craft and knew his
subject backwards and forwards. Couple this with a good sense of humor and a
relaxed but firm teaching style meant students were engaged and active
participants. We collaborated and planned while leaving each person with
independence. It was the best teaching placement I’ve had so far. At the end, I
was sad to leave this assignment as the year drew to a close.
At the same time that I was a
long term sub, I started taking courses to gain my Masters. I was an MSED
student in the land of MAT students. It was very rare that I came across
another MSED student. Almost all of the students that I was taking classes with
had never been in a classroom except as students or for short observation
periods. It was very difficult to compare my experiences with the expectations
that these other "teachers" had. However, I persevered through my
coursework and graduated in December of 2013. I was finally done with my formal
education.
Toward the end of my masters
classes, I also started working full time at my alma matter. I taught 15:1
Social Studies classes, co-taught in an English classroom, and had a couple
Resource Rooms. It was a good year. I loved the students I worked with.
Well, most of them. You always get a couple that somehow get under your skin.
But my students worked well and by the end of the year I was reluctant to let
them go. Once again, I had been laid off. Only this time, there were not enough
students to keep my position. I always encouraged my kids to work so hard that
they put me out of a job!
During the summer I
interviewed all over the place and was lucky to get another job. Then, at the
very tail end of the summer, a stroke of providence led a teacher at my alma
mater to take a job elsewhere and I was able to come back. This time I was not
in the High School, I was going to teach in the Middle School. Talk about an
animal with different stripes! Not only were the students different (mentally
and physically), but the staff as well. It's been interesting trying to
find my place in this new world. Not to mention a new CSE chair that I've been
trying to figure out. Add to that new regulations and standards from the state
and it makes for a very busy year.
There are always new mandates
that schools have to comply with. Some are valid and have a place in making
schools a better place. However, Governor Cuomo has made school
administration and unions livid with his “reforms”. While the new Common Core
Standards have good intentions (boosting literacy skills, etc), the Data Driven
Instruction that ties in with Teacher
Evaluation is absolutely bonkers. For example, last year I taught some
wonderful students. They were the hardest workers that you've ever seen in your
life. These kiddos received special education services and test taking was not
a strong suit for them. In fact, getting a passing grade on any exam was a
rarity and great reason to celebrate (even more so when it was regents and it
meant they could graduate!). Anyone would love to have these students, however,
under Cuomo these students’ scores will determine that I was a bad teacher (at
least for a portion my overall APPR scores). These students who made 20 point jumps in
their scores and had model work ethics turn into numbers that tell the state
that my teaching for that class was ineffective? I beg to differ. These
students are amazing young adults. Why twist it into something negative? I
wonder if we could bring this new APPR system to court as “cruel and unusual
punishment”?
So far, there has been no word
of staff cuts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to stay and
teach next year. I’ve been laid off from teaching twice because of student
numbers and budget cuts. If it has taught me anything, it’s that you can’t
start planning for the future in education. Or, at least, you have to live with
the optimism that it will all work out if you try hard. If you get laid off
because of cuts, there will be another job to apply for and obtain. I’m not
living in a fantasy world, but reality tinted with hope. Someday, the education
world will get better. It might be rough right now, but I’ll try hard to make
it through. Keep hold of the little things that give you pleasure, they’ll help
to get you through the day, week, or year.
One of my current students
likes to point out that I'm still technically in school. Perhaps I've never
really left the classroom, just picked a different role. I'm now the one giving
knowledge and inspiring others. At least, I hope that I've given my students belief
in the possibilities of the future and skills to be responsible, informed
citizens.
