The value of great teachers

Sweet sisters. Time is flying...they were little girls yesterday.

John John is a genuinely sweet kid. I like him a lot.

I've been up since 4 this morning, and since I lost an hour of sleep, anyway, I'm pretty tired. (We spring forward two weeks later than the U.S. Don't ask--I don't know why.) Marc left early for the airport--he's flying to Moscow and St. Petersburg for a week--and once I'm up, I'm up. I'm hoping to get a nap later.

I've been thinking about teaching and teachers this week. My friend here had an interesting experience, where suddenly she was getting all these excited emails about her teaching in Czech schools. It came as a surprise to her, but when I thought about it, I wasn't really surprised that all these people would be excited about her coming to teach English in their schools. Of course, it's wonderful to have a native speaker teaching a language, and I've heard many complaints over the last year from folks who don't like that their kids' English teacher doesn't really know all that much English. And I've watched her teach, and she's a good teacher. She knows what she's doing. But I think what makes her exciting to people is the obvious love and care she shows to her students. You cannot replace that as a teaching tool. People are drawn to someone who genuinely cares about them.

I've also been thinking about teaching and teachers because the Florida legislature has passed a piece of legislation that ties teacher pay to student performance on standardized testing. Now, I'm not a particularly political person...well, that's not really true...I'm not a publicly political person. I don't often make political statements or support a particular candidate publicly, mostly because I got into the habit of keeping that stuff to myself when I taught in public schools, but also because I can't imagine that anybody would care what I think about politics. But I'm going to say it aloud: This is a VERY BAD piece of legislation. VERY BAD. AWFUL. TERRIBLE. And here's why: if 50% of their pay is tied to how students do on standardized tests, who in their right mind is going to want to teach those kids who don't do well on tests? Who is going to teach the kids who need the best teachers? Those students who sit on the lowest quartile, who are hard to improve because they are 16 and don't speak a word of English...who will teach them? And since when did the value of a teacher rest on the results of a standardized test?

I have had the great joy of teaching for many, many years. I have taught every kind of kid there is, from the highly gifted to the highly remedial. From the kid who is headed to the Ivy League to the kid who can't spell Ivy League. In every kid I've taught, even the ones who were "bad" in terms of behavior and grades, there was a redeeming something. There is something to love in every child, whether they can perform on a standardized test or not. And here's the really important thing: If I had never taught anyone but those who would make me look good on a test, I would have missed out on some of the best moments of my teaching career. Because you know what? Those kids who succeed on every standardized test? They would have succeeded without me. With some exceptions, those kids have lots of encouragement and lots of folks in their corner. But those kids who don't normally succeed on a test? They could use a good coach, someone who thinks they can do something worthwhile, contribute to society, be good citizens, whether or not they can do algebra or figure out the tone of a piece of writing.

My own children have benefited so much from great teachers, people who saw something in them that was worth loving. Sarah Beth would not have made it through 3rd grade without Kim Miskowski as her teacher. With a terribly sick mother and a baby brother she didn't know if she'd ever see, Sarah Beth's 3rd grade shoulders bore too much weight. But Kim was there and helped her through every step of the way. She found a way to show her love for a frightened little girl, and in doing that, found a way to help her do well in school. Hannah found so much love and comfort in Sarah Clark, her music and science teacher last year, who helped her through the transition of being in Moscow. Without Sarah's influence, without her love and caring, I'm not sure Hannah would have survived what was a very rough year for her. And there are no words for how much Natalie Richardson, John's second grade teacher, did for him. Natalie managed to see good in John even when he wasn't at his best. If Natalie said, "He's such a good kid," to me once, she said it a thousand times. Encouragement for him and for his Mom...that takes someone special. And what is the thread that ties together these three examples? None of them had anything to do with how my kids did on tests. Instead, my kids benefited from the intangibles that make a great teacher--that extra something that is special about the people who love our children. You can't measure that on a test, and you can't really quantify its importance.

My former boss once told me that it's all about the teacher standing in the classroom. Administrators can make the way as best they can given their resources, and counselors can help guide students, but at the end of the day, it's all about the teacher. And in my experience, it's the intangibles that make great teachers great. It's the love, the caring, the enthusiasm, the interest in students...those are the things that make us all look back fondly at those teachers we point to as the ones who made a difference to us. The Miskowskis and Clarks and Richardsons of the teaching world are worth their weight in gold. If we could quantify what they bring to the classroom, then I would believe in merit pay. But until then, to think that we can put into a formula some test scores and come up with what a teacher is worth...that's pretty ridiculous.

Well, I suppose I should get up and moving. I need to do spring cleaning while Marc is gone, but I think that can wait until another day. Today I am looking forward to time with my kiddos and Bible study with friends. Wherever you are in the world, I challenge you to take time today to thank a teacher who was instrumental in your life (and call your representative and tell him/her you are NOT happy with this new legislation if you live in Florida), and I hope your husband is bringing you Russian chocolate in a week, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye