December 2001/January 2002 SDCTE Poll:  Teaching Experience

25% had taught for 6-10 years

12.5% had taught for 16-20 years

25% had taught for 21-25 years

25% had taught for 26-30 years

12.5% had taught for more than 35 years

My seniors are genuinely interested in learning. That is a change from most of my classes. My ninth grade students for the past five-six years have expected to pass with little or no effort.  We seem to be into rescuing more than empowering.  Sometimes my administrators invest more in accommodating parents than in backing teachers. With schools scrambling for dollars this will get worse, I fear. 

As far as the subject matter, the biggest change is teaching grammar through writing. As far as kids, the biggest change is apathy and rudeness.

Since 1985, there has been more focus on writing as a process and on workshopping.

Discipline; Writing in almost any form

Getting students to complete assignments on time is a big problem, but the greatest challenge is getting students to READ for enjoyment and to read instructions for details on how to complete the assignment.

The greatest change has come in the students themselves.  Most do not want to spend the time to develop excellence.  Few want to spend time in tedious revision.

 Increased teacher responsibility, and along with that, increased pressure to account for student learning.

Never the students, always the politics.  When I taught high school, parents were often more a hinderence than a help, and administration only served to isolate teachers, often from each other as well as from them.  Now that I teach at the university level, I am happier.  Politics might be even uglier at times, but I’m no longer made to feel like a sub-sub-professional who couldn’t get work elsewhere and had to surrender to teaching.

Working with words and young minds will keep me pumped. Discovering Shakespeare with them is a continual thrill.  I love my students’ energy and honesty. 

Knowing there are a few who really appreciate the learning experience

Most rewarding for me is the exchange of ideas and the opportunities to encourage young people to become lifelong learners.

Working with kids (teens, in my job) is great (or “the best of times and the worst of times).  Association with them kelps to keep me aware of the world, large and small.

Although it’s a rather abstract moment, and perhaps even cheesy, it has always been that moment when “the light bulb turns on.”  Often it is quite overt; you can see recognition dawn in a student’s eyes, on her face, in the way he changes posture.

The most rewarding aspect is the return of former students to thank me for causing them to work hard enough to learn and be successful.

Students—I love the students I teach.

Having students do a 180 and becoming a good student Helping those who want to learn reach their goals Seeing that senior cross the stage.

The apathetic attitude of students, their short-term learning attitude, and their disrespect are my reasons for leaving.

Lack of respect for what I do by the community in which I teach.  2.  Lack of support for encouraging students to expect to work hard in school.  3.  Stress of being expected to perform miracles while teachers on the elementary level cannot be expected to perform miracles.  4.  Extra-curricular duties which appear to be life sentences.

Retirement is sneaking up on me.  After that I would like to work in a book store or library just to keep involved in reading.

Always and ever, salary.

Lack of recognition for my expertise: maybe I can better apply my talents elsewhere.

Policy makers in our state must eventually realize that they have too long expected too much from our state’s teachers.  Policy makers must also realize that education is expensive, but illiteracy and prisons are much more expensive.

It seems as if outside demands for teaching non-subject related material have also interfered with classroom teaching.  Once I had to teach AIDS prevention in an English class.  Often we are asked to join specific contests, even though we may not be studying that type of writing at the time.  New requirements in block scheduling for varied activities sometimes find teachers searching for activities to fulfill those requirements rather than selecting meaningful activities to fulfill set goals.

To keep teachers, we need more mentoring, smaller class sizes for English teacher and more support from administration when it comes to discipline.