Old Teachers



The call went out begging for people to come in this weekend to finish marking geometry regents.  Against my husbands advice, I went in, Jewish guilt being the driving force.  Imagine my surprise to see the room full of older teachers, teachers who have continually been abused, people who care about doing the right thing and doing the job well.

So much for the myth that we are only in it for the paycheck.  I am willing to bet none of the senior teachers were there for the money. 

Credit Recovery Success Story (I hope)

I had my doubts when this young man walked in for credit recovery help.  His tattooed arms and his demeanor didn't strike me as someone who wanted help, but someone who wanted answers.  But, I didn't judge and sat down next to him and offered help.

He was clueless for the first few problems.  But, instead of just wanting answers, he politely listened to me explaining all the choices and how to eliminate wrong answers.  I realized that math was not his subject and his background was weak.  I spent several minutes talking to him, finding out that he likes sports.  I told him that gym was my weakest class and that gym intimidated me more than math scared him.  I let him know straight out that I respected his ability to succeed in an area that was out of my reach.  We continued doing problems and before I knew what was going on, he was answering them on his own.  He worked steadily for two hours and when he left, he promised to return to complete the assignment.

I'm not a credit recovery fan, in fact, I don't even believe it should be done.  But, by giving him credit, this boy was sitting and learning.  We both felt good when he left.  I just hope some of the knowledge stays with him and he passes the regents on June 16.

Real Value, Not That The Bloombergs Of The World Would Notice



It was a day in the middle of a vacation week.  The teacher was sitting in the middle of a group of students, all who had given up their day off to get some extra help.  (I was there to do some per session work I am getting paid for.)

The teacher was taken aback to see me.  He didn't want anyone to know what he was doing.  He swore me to secrecy, as if his actions were criminal.  I will keep his secret and not share his identity or even the subject he teaches.  But, I have to share his actions.  Here is a person who cares.  Here is a person whose value is more than a some data on a sheet of paper.  Here is a teacher of real value.