Teachers are Professionals? HA!

One of the greatest sources of my own inner turmoil is the constant nagging about how long I legitimately think I can keep teaching. Every Monday, the dread that faces me is enough to make my concerned husband ask if I want to quit mid-year. We both know I'm far too "professional" for that, but it doesn't seem like the rest of this state considers teachers professionals. 

Last week an article, "Lawmakers consider creating board exam for teachers in effort to keep standards high," appeared on KSL news, and it indicated that the State Legislature is considering enacting a new board certification process for teachers to keep and earn their teaching licenses. This move seems to be in direct response to the Utah State Board of Ed's decision to lower the requirements needed to earn a license in the first place. 

Here's some background: Utah is facing a teacher crisis (that will be the subject of another post altogether), and the Board is trying to use a short-term solution to fix it. Basically, under the new rules, any person with a bachelor's degree can get a job teaching, and through mentoring, receive a teaching license. I take issue with many of these new regulations, including increasing the already demanding work load of experienced "master" teachers, neglecting to acknowledge that it takes education and instruction to learn how to manage a classroom and educate students, and bypassing the many necessary steps it takes to prove mastery in both a content area and in teaching before getting a job. I do understand that the Board is facing a shortage, but they might be doing it at the expense of losing their overworked teachers already in the field. 

I digress. The legislature is proposing (in response to the Board's decision) that teachers be required to take . . . wait for it . . . a test to prove mastery of teaching and get board certified. The process will include evaluations and a test and who knows what else. Upon reading this article (link below), we find out how out-of-touch legislators are with the requirements it takes to get a degree in teaching and in keeping a license. 

Here's what already happens:
Every year teachers get evaluated by administrators in their building. They follow a challenging rubric of best teaching practices. Together the teacher and administrator work on a Growth Plan to improve their teaching and student outcomes for the future. This process is technically different in every district, but not much different (I've worked for 3 districts and it's all about the same). This evaluation process is also directly tied to whether or not teachers earn a pay increase, or in teacher terms, a step increase for the following year. It's high stakes and teachers really are held accountable for what they are doing or not doing in their classrooms. 

Also, before I graduated from Utah State University with a Level 1 teaching license, I had to pass the Praxis II test in my content areas of English and Speech Communications (my minor). A few years into the job, I had to pass the Praxis II PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching) to upgrade to a Level 2 license. That's two tests. And, evaluations yearly. These are just a few of the requirements to keep or renew or attain a teaching license. Teachers are also required to do a lot of continuing education and professional development, and some teachers even go through the National Board Certification process (which I don't know much about because I don't even know how to create time to research what that takes). 

Do lawmakers not know what teachers already do in order to become "Highly Qualified" in their fields and receive a teaching license? I have to think the answer is no, because a board exam would seem redundant if they did know. Adding requirements to the licensing process will harm the interest of new recruits and deter veteran teachers from staying in the profession. A move like this from lawmakers makes me wonder who in the legislature gets a kickback every time they require or mandate another test. Are there test-maker lobbyists? Is that a thing? That theory makes more and more sense the longer I think of it. 

Teachers are professionals. I am a professional, and I work with professionals. If Utah lawmakers can't accept that, then maybe we shouldn't be called professionals or given any indication that this is a career. They should just teach us to be good little worker bees and do what they ask. Then we wouldn't get so confused about why we are continually treated as though we can't do our jobs. 

It's time that local lawmakers recognized the huge resource they have in the teaching workforce and help us do our jobs instead of giving us all one more reason to quit tomorrow. 

Here's the article if you're interested:

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=41570153&nid=148&title=lawmakers-consider-creating-board-exam-for-teachers-in-effort-to-keep-standards-high

Why I Cried After Class:

As a teacher, I am often pressed with endless questions. “When is this due?” “Why did the poet write it like that?” “Can you explain that again?” “How can you tell what that means?” These questions I can handle. I became a teacher after all to help educate the minds of the future. I want them to ask questions—hard questions. I want them to look at words and furrow their brows with critical thinking working through their brains. I want questions. I feed off of questions.

But.

Today, I designed a high interest lesson. We had class debates on issues from the play Julius Caesar. We debated questions like: Is it ever okay to overthrow a political leader? Is there such thing as fate? Students participated and fought and delved into some interesting issues. After the debate, I used my best storytelling skills and proffered all the most interesting details of Julius’s life.  I told of pirates, war, conspiracy, lovers trysts, politics, speech making, and assassination. I was at my best (and for the 5^th time, I might add).

When I finished, I asked my students to write in their notes a bit about what they learned from the class debates we had or from the info I delivered on Julius. The prompt was “What did you learn today? Any interesting thoughts?”

But they couldn’t handle this simple question. “What if I didn’t learn anything?” “Wait, what do we write about?” “How much do we have to write?” “Wait, what do we write about?” “What are we doing?” “What if nothing was interesting?” . . . I answered, I explained, I repeated. And then, I said, “Yeah write a short paragraph, 5-6 sentences about what you learned or even just a thought you had that was interesting in the debates.” I was greeted with shock and horror. “Are you serious?” “Why so much?” “Why do we have to write anything at all?” “5-6 sentences? (eye roll).” I defended the assignment. “It’s not that much. -- I just want to know your interesting thoughts from today. – This is English, you need to use words!” And then the statement that pushed me over the edge. “I’m only writing one sentence.”

Sigh. We’re doomed.

The questions that make me want to give up the most are the questions students ask that show they are their own biggest obstacles in education. To me the question sounds like this: “How little can I do and still get points for doing it?” I hate that, and I don’t use the word hate much. What happened to curiosity and learning for the sake of gaining knowledge? Why are students so opposed to effort of any kind?

At the last barrage of questions and whiny statements, I grabbed my laptop and left the room. I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood outside the closed door and counted to 10. The bell eventually rang a minute later and my students (some) literally ran out the door. Some saw me standing there and graciously offered me a thank you, full on sympathy in their observant eyes.

When all were gone, I shut the door, sat in a desk, and cried. I cried for my lack of understanding. I cried for the energy and emotion I put into educating these kids everyday, only to be greeted with sheer resistance. I cried because I’m the enemy and they’re the victims. I cried because I don’t know how much longer I can do this job.  I cried because I don’t know how to break through.

I want to be a good teacher. I want to have one of those classes where everyone is raising their hands to speak, or better yet, understanding the rules of society and can moderate their own conversations with civility.

I don’t know how to do that, and that’s why I cried.

Dress Codes

I haven't posted in years, but I'm coming out of hiding because I need a creative outlet:

How Not to Respond When a Boy Admits He Has Impure Thoughts

By Arti Teemant

At Timpview High the last two weeks, a situation about cheerleading uniforms is going viral. Reportedly a parent called administration at the high school, saying her son had impure thoughts about the cheerleaders in uniform at school. Somebody alerted the media and started throwing around words like “rape culture” and “body shaming” --two very socially prevalent phrases. Now that People Mag has picked up the story, others from the outside are happily looking in on a Mormon-heavy community, mocking us for our absurd obsession with modesty.

I, for one, think this is an unfortunate situation. We live in a society that is justifiably enflamed when women are wrongly objectified or threatened or lessened by a patriarchal society. However, we have to stop crucifying people for making mistakes that are fairly harmless and blowing them to rape proportions. Can we be a bit more strategic in our approach to these situations? There is a spectrum of severity when it comes to objectification of women. Rape is way on one end and making a comment without thinking first is on the other. This latter end of the spectrum needs education, not philippic rants making them out to be horrible human beings.

The boy who complained at Timpview about having impure thoughts about the cheerleaders in their uniforms is in a prime position to be educated about controlling his thoughts and looking beyond a woman’s body and seeing her as a person, not an object. Now, however, you better believe that this young man will never say anything out loud again when he thinks inappropriately about a woman again. Neither will any of the other young men having impure thoughts. They’ll be too afraid that People Magazine will breathe down their necks to get a statement and be epitomized as the worst male to ever think a thought about a woman in a short skirt. As we should know as a culture by now, creating change by fear is not as effective as good leadership, support, and education. Shaming men for having impure thoughts about women is not the way to respond. Straight forward discussions about mindset and old-timey beliefs about women and their bodies is a much better way to cultivate change in our young men.

Isn’t this blown up response part of the problem? I am a particular fan of the movement to allow women to love their bodies as they are and show them off if they want. I think it is liberating and akin to the bra burning of the past. But can we just imagine this situation as it probably actually happened?

Theoretically, Timpview gets a call from a concerned mom. “My son said he had impure thoughts about the cheerleaders today. Can we do something about that?” Administrators scramble to think about what should happen. “Should we not let them wear the uniforms? Well we don’t enforce our dress code here anyway, so why should we start now? No, let’s let them wear them, but talk to the cheer coach about it.” The administration talks to the cheer coach, and they say something like, “Hey, we’re concerned about the shortness of the cheer skirts. Is there something else the cheerleaders can wear to school on game days?” Instead of the sincere question, the cheer coach, as the protective woman she might be, heard instead: “Your cheerleaders are immodest, so they can’t wear their uniforms.” She circles the wagons and tells the girls they can’t wear their uniforms to school anymore. The girls freak out. News outlets are informed, and you know the rest.

I work at Timpview and that is how I see this story going. Principal Montero is not the type of principal who rules from his administrator seat on high, making decrees and banning girls from wearing their cheerleading uniforms. He’s a pretty informed, liberated member of the patriarchal system that generally runs schools in Utah. I doubt forbidding the uniforms was ever a real consideration, and if it was, I don’t really care. It’s just another opportunity to educate the men who run things. These girls have not been body shamed; they’re cheerleaders. If anyone could parade around in underwear-length skirts and pull it off, it’s these girls. The real issue here is that this boy who took his concerns to trusted adults seeking help (probably), will now internalize his thoughts and think he is an evil man for thinking them. That sounds to me like a dangerous complex for a man to be carrying around.

We have problems in our country with how we present and perceive women and their bodies. We need to protect the rights women have to love their bodies and wear what they like, absolutely. But we should definitely not be doing it at the expense of vilifying our men who are struggling to change their mindsets when it comes to women and their bodies. There are true villains in this world, but a boy admitting his impure thoughts is not one of them, yet. I have a feeling that if we don’t turn to educating the masses as opposed to vilifying them, we will only exacerbate the problem.

Vermont Part 2

Hi all,It's been over a year since I last posted and well, that's a long time. So much has happened over the year and I don't think I can report it all. In a nut shell, some big changes have come into my life. I'm dating a pretty incredible guy named Drew. In the pictures above, you'll see we've had quite a few adventures :) I got a new job and am moving to the West Jordan/South Jordan area of Salt Lake in August. I don't have a place yet, but that is where I think I'll be looking. My job is at West Jordan Middle School. It's a rougher school, but somewhere I think I can make a difference. I'm switching to 8th Grade English instead of 11th and 12th which will be . . . interesting, challenging and a bit fun I'm sure. I moved out of my apartment in May and shacked up at the Browns' calling their home my home base while I traveled or stayed home to read one of the many book on my list for the summer. They are some good folk!

I had a few adventures in June. I visited brother Bret and his family in St. George, making a quick, but definitely needed, stop in Pine Valley to visit the Grandparent Snows. I spent a bit of time in Salt Lake right when school got out and went to Yearbook Camp for one last time with my old crew. They won the prize for best concept of a yearbook and I am so proud of them. The new teacher and they will do just fine I think. Other than that, I enjoyed a lot of weekends with Drew. We went to Palisades with parts of my family in June. We went to the Scottish Highland Festival at Thanksgiving Point and took a trip up to Mirror Lake in the Uintas and enjoyed some Bees Baseball with my family too. (pictures above)

Now, however, I am in VERMONT! As part of my Bread Loaf School of English adventures, I decided to spend another Summer in Vermont. This will be the 4th of 5 and I picked an excellent campus. My first ever summer, and I think the first summer of this blog, was spent in the Green Mountains of Vermont. I am walking around and remembering things fondly. I just arrived yesterday and have already connected to my group of friends that have traveled the world with me. It feels like no time has passed since we walked the streets of Oxford together.

I flew in on Sunday to Burlington and met a friend at the airport. Together we split a hotel room for a night before a friend with a vehicle could come pick us up. Unfortunately there is not a lot of public transportation in Vermont. I would have taken an almost $100 taxi ride to Bread Loaf if it weren't for my friend Chris, who chauffeured me and Duckie (friend I met at airport (to school). Today is registration and classes start tomorrow. I am excited for my two classes: Mexican American Literature and African American Poetry since 1960. My poetry professor is one of the who's who in A.A. Lit. and I am more than excited to study with him. I hear he's brilliant. :)

So for now, that's a quick update. I'll try to post pictures and reports of the summer as awesome things happen. Hopefully I'll make it to Montreal or other Canadian places or cool Vermont places as the summer moves along.
Ciao for now!

Blogspot and Picasa have changed so much that I can't seem to find how to imbed a slide show anymore. So if you want photos, you'll have to follow this link.

Pre-Vermont Photos