Gladly Would I Teach

Earlier in my career I used to hear boys complain about reading and writing. They considered most of the books we read to be GIRL books and most of our essays to be essays for GIRLS. Math and science and even history were true BOY subjects.

Many parents also considered English to be a subject that boys had to endure: “He’s never liked English, but we tell him just to push through it, and it will be over before he knows it.”

Along with most English teachers, in the past I included works that I thought would interest males. A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Shelley’s Frankenstein, Huxley’s Brave New World, and lots of Shakespeare, particularly Macbeth and Hamlet, became staples of English classrooms because the works were timeless and sufficiently interesting to males. In other words, they were not GIRL books or plays.

In the past two to three years, however, I have seen and heard a change in how males regard English classes. I no longer hear “girls’ subject,” nor do I see boys trying to evade English classes. Instead, most of the males that I teach like English and have a favorable view of English teachers.

What has prompted this change and is this a trend across the country or something only happening at my local school? I have a few theories, but no real answer.

Since I teach all seniors, possibly older students are more interested in reading and writing than younger boys.

Since I teach AP English Language and Composition, a course that stresses nonfiction reading and writing, maybe the boys are more interested in nonfiction literature instead of novels, plays, and poetry. Authorities on teaching boys emphasize the need to include more nonfiction literature in schools.

Is the Internet with its emphasis on reading and writing indirectly increasing boys’ interest in English?

Although I have no proof of the rationale behind the change I am experiencing in the attitudes of boys, I have a sneaking suspicion that the real reason may revolve around the English Department in my high school. For years I taught in schools where the English department was composed almost exclusively of female teachers. Usually, we would have one or two male English teachers, and they were men who worked well with low achieving students or reluctant readers.

Today, eight of the fifteen English teachers in the department where I teach are male. What a change!  Throughout their high school careers, male and female students will have both male and female English teachers, and I suspect that is one of the main reasons why we rarely hear the complaint that English is a girls’ subject. When boys have a coach who loves Shakespeare, why would they regard literature as only for girls? When boys have an English teacher who can quote 18th-century British poetry with as much enthusiasm as he spouts NCAA college football statistics, why would they consider poetry as a feminine subject?  When boys have a male teacher who plays in a band and also loves to write, why would they believe writing is a subject just for girls?

Is English still considered a girls’ subject in your school? Have you seen a change in how boys regard reading and writing?

Over my long career, I have been astounded by how much technology has advanced and enhanced my ability to teach.

For example, when I first started teaching in 1977, it took an hour to read through a huge catalogue and select a movie to show to my class, another hour to complete the proper form and mail it, and weeks before the movie arrived in the mail. When it arrived, I usually had two days to show the movie before I had to pack it back up and return it. I don’t even want to describe the frustration of learning how to thread the movie through the projector and create the proper loop so the movie would not pop throughout the viewing like a “silent” movie in the 1920s.

Years later, VCRs and video cassettes replaced movie projectors.

Years later, DVD players and disks replaced VCRS.

Now, we have moved on to digital downloads. Who knows what will be next?

No aid, device, or piece of technology, however, has made my job easier than a course website that contains information about my class, due dates, information for parents, links to websites that provide additional help, and most of the assignments that students must complete in my class.

I created my first course website about 8 years ago and suffered through learning FrontPage. Today, I use a blogging platform (WordPress) that allows me to add information through pages. This process allows me to post updates and add new information in only minutes.

As the years go on, I keep adding and refining what I have on my website. When students needed more examples, I started posting papers from previous students (with their permission). When I create new assignments, I add a new page and show the assignment. When I stop using an assignment, instead of removing it from the website, I simply type the note “We will not complete this assignment this month.”

Many teachers who look at my website express the idea that they do not have the time or the skills to create a comparable site. What they may not understand, however, is that I built my site a little at a time over the years.

Today, as I prepare for a new semester, all I will have to do is update my syllabus and due dates and make the changes on my website.  I will then direct students to the website, teach them how to use it, and explain that they will need to print assignments when we get to them. I save myself hours simply by reducing the number of assignments I have to duplicate for students,

If you don’t have a website for your class, it’s an idea you might want to consider. Course websites increase communication between teachers and students, teachers and parents, and teachers and other teachers. Each week I receive one or two emails from new teachers who ask permission to use my assignments or who just express thanks. We are all accustomed to sharing ideas with the teacher down the hall. Course websites allow us to share ideas with teachers across the globe.

Here’s the link to my AP English Language & Composition website:

Parrott\’s AP English Language and Composition

During the final week of the semester, I sat in my classroom after class and talked to two of my students. We laughed about things that had happened during our class and plans we had for the holidays. Amid our discussion, Cortney stated, “I want to ask you a personal question.”

Like any good teacher, I always brace myself when students say that because I never know what they will ask, and, too often, their personal questions pertain to what I think about another student, information I would never disclose to students.

“Sure, ask me whatever you want to know,”  I responded.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Cortney added. “It’s just something that has bothered us all semester, and no one would ever ask you.”

Intrigued, I encouraged Cortney to ask her question.

“We just want to know why you always pour your tea into a paper cup and then put that cup inside a real cup.”

I’ve taught these students for 18 weeks, and their most pressing concern is how I drink my tea?!!

I explained that I put the cup inside another cup so I don’t have to wash the cup or worry about it getting too hot for me to hold or tipping over on my desk.   I started the practice when I used Styrofoam cups in the past that often leaked after a few hours of use.

“Oh,” Cortney responded. “I thought about the cleaning part, but then we wondered if you were just OCD or something.”

I suppose we can never see ourselves as our students see us. I consider myself easy going and approachable, someone students would have no trouble asking such a “personal” question, but I guess I’m wrong.

“We just want to know why you always pour your tea into a paper cup and then put that cup inside a real cup.”

Now, I wonder what I can do with my tea next semester to drive another class crazy!

Throughout my career, I have seen teachers celebrate during their 30th year of teaching, their final year of work. They laughed during faculty meetings when they learned of new programs, new procedures, and new paperwork for the following year because they knew they would not have to do it.

They celebrated a year of lasts: last first day of school, last Open House, last report card, last research paper,  last. . . last . . .last.

With ten years of teaching experience, I laughed and celebrated with these teachers. With twenty years of experience, I celebrated their retirement, but I was also secretly envious.

With 32 years of teaching experience today, I am just stumped and often avoid the issue of retirement.

I started this school year with big plans to retire from high school teaching and find a job teaching college. So far, I have had little luck finding a new job, and I’m starting to wonder.

Do I retire anyway?

Do I retire and then teach half day?

How much longer can I continue to make such a long daily commute (2 1/2 hours)?

If I retire, will I get bored?

If I love my students and my job and am effective, should I retire?

Ten years ago retirement seemed like such an achievement, a reward for decades of service.

Today, the decision just seems too difficult to make. I welcome all advice.

Sunday night I started writing my final round of teacher recommendations for college acceptance. For as long as I can remember, I have had to spend part of my Christmas vacation writing college recommendations, primarily for The University of Georgia.

UGA and Georgia Tech are the most popular college choices for my students. Students who apply to UGA for early admission do not find out if they have been accepted until the weekend before the final week of school before Christmas Break.

Students who are not accepted must then write several essays and obtain a teacher recommendation by Jan. 15th. So, on the final week of the semester when teachers are swamped with final grades and worried about submitting grades on time, we must also try to sound happy and offer encouragement as  crestfallen students approach us during our final week and ask us to write recommendations for them.

Sunday night I opened my large folder to review the files of 14 students whose recommendations I must write. They are all good students, but several of them forgot to attach a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Two students neglected to attach forms that list their extra-curricular activities, and one student gave me a counselor’s form to complete instead of a teacher recommendation form. I sent emails and asked for the needed items.

Twenty-four hours later, only one student had responded.

I worked on recommendations all day yesterday, and I’ll spend another day writing letters today.  Thankfully, this year UGA provided a way to submit recommendations online.

At least I don’t have to spend part of my vacation standing in line to buy stamps at the post office. Besides, if I didn’t have good students, I wouldn’t have to write any recommendations.

As I was writing thank-you notes this weekend, I started thinking about my first year of teaching when I was so young and so inexperienced.  Milky the Marvelous Milking Cow was a new toy in 1977, and the commercials for the toy seemed to air every ten minutes. Milky was a simple toy in these pre-computer days. Kids fed water with milk tablets to Milky and then milked him.

And he mooed.

And mooed!

And mooed!

In class I kept joking about Milky the Cow and claiming that I was dreaming that Santa would bring him to me for Christmas.

As I learned much too late, teachers should never make such statements to eighth graders. When the final day before Christmas break arrived, my kids presented me with a big box to open. After carefully peeling away the wrapping paper, I discovered Milky the Cow, a much too expensive toy for a silly joke.

We spent the rest of the afternoon milking Milky the Cow.

That’s the last time I joked with students about what I wanted for Christmas.

We have to do something to prevent so many young teachers from leaving the profession, and I am convinced that mentoring programs are at least part of the solution. I was thrilled today to read about a new mentoring program in Texas that pays retired teachers to work during the year with 5 new teachers.

Mentor offers lessons to new teachers in Lewisville ISD

While mentoring is not a new approach to helping young teachers, this is the first time I have seen a program that actually pays retired teachers to return to the schools to share their expertiese. Most mentor programs ask current teachers to mentor younger teachers without providing extra pay or a reduction in duties. As a result, mentors are limited in how much help they can provide, and new teachers are more reticent to ask for help since they realize how much work mentors already have to complete.

Most mentoring programs also require mentors to attend staff development, complete forms, and follow a specific procedure for when and how they should mentor. This mentoring program seems much more flexible and appears to allow the mentor and new teacher to figure out together what do do.  Capitalizing on the retired teacher’s experience and skills may be the best mentoring program available.

I look forward to seeing the effectiveness of this program and whether or not it prevents new teachers from leaving the profession.

What an exciting new program! I would love to be involved in a similar mentoring program.

After 60 years of teaching, substitute is still at the head of the class

I love these stories!

“Who needs to stop working? I’m having too much fun,” he said. “You can either wear out or rust out. I prefer to wear out.”

This morning’s LA Times contains an inspirational story of Bruce Kravets, a 66-year-old middle school math teacher who refuses to retire.  The article fascinated me because it contrasts sharply with the opinions of so many teachers.

Last night as I read through the Facebook status updates of some of my teacher friends, I was struck by how many of them reflected anxiety and unhappiness about having to return to school after the one-week Thanksgiving break. In an online teacher discussion forum I check regularly, several teachers yesterday reported that they couldn’t wait to retire. Yet, here is a teacher who won’t retire, a teacher who actually works without a paycheck.

Retired Los Angeles teacher keeps at it, for free

Bruce Kravets keeps coming back to school after 42 years because

He couldn’t think of anything more fun or rewarding than teaching algebra, geometry, logic and stage craft.

After 32 years of teaching, I think I understand how Kravets feels. I’m thinking of leaving high school teaching and teaching at the college level, but I can’t imagine retiring now. I actually believe that teaching becomes easier as we age. Yes, there are exceptions, but, for the most part, good teachers who enjoy their jobs probably are able to prepare effective lessons faster, reach difficult students easier and with less tension, maintain the interest of students longer, mentor younger colleagues with more patience, and prevent parental complaints with greater understanding than they could as younger or less experienced teachers. In fact, physical tasks may be the only areas where older teachers  may encounter more trouble than previous years.

Does this mean all good teachers will stay in the classroom beyond retirement age? Of course not! Many excellent teachers retire because they have other things they want to accomplish or because they are tired of the routine of daily teaching.

As this article illustrates, however, good teachers who are respected by their peers, administrators, students, and former students might just stay around for a few years past their retirement.

And we need them!

Please take the time to read this essay by Cindi Rigsbee,  a 2009 National Teacher of the Year finalist. I promise it will rejuvenate your teaching soul. Cindi refers to Parker Palmer’s Courage to Teach, a beautiful book about teaching that I highly recommend because it touches on so many of the fears and triumphs of teaching.

Here’s a link to Cindi Rigsbee’s essay in Teacher Magazine:

Called to Teach

Called to teach – I wonder today how many of our young teachers feel called to teach. Decades ago we talked about teaching as a true calling and a devotion to help others. We talked about needing to have the “fire in the belly” to teach. We emphasized that teachers had to have big hearts and an insatiable desire to help students. Today I’m afraid too much of that missionary zeal is lost in the paper shuffle of NCLB or state standards or country, state, district dictates about how, when, where, and why teachers should conduct lessons.

In his book, Palmer emphasizes:

In our rush to reform education, we have forgotten a simple truth: reform will never be achieved by renewing appropriations, restructuring schools, rewriting curricula, and revising texts if we continue to demean and dishearten the human resource called the teacher on whom so much depends (p. 3).

We need to find more teachers who are called to teach.