The School Year Begins Without ME!

On Facebook there was an article by the local news about teachers leaving Brunswick County Schools.  Since I retired, I have resisted speaking up about the situation here in Brunswick County but I decided it was time.  Here is what I wrote:


 "Teachers have to feel valued in order to stay. Administrators that do not trust their teachers to do the job they were hired to do and denigrate their faculty lose teachers. Central Services personnel that listen and do nothing (or admit that they are aware of the problem and unable to change it) lose teachers. Over the summer I have spent hours listening to some of the teachers who have already left or who are in the process of leaving, they question the future of public education and their ability to survive emotionally rather than financially.

Teachers who have years and years of experience are not appreciated for their classroom experience, rather they are viewed as "old" or just "working for a retirement check." Anyone who has been in education for any length of time knows that each August brings with it a new version of the perfect way to teach. Often times this new way has been devised by researchers who have not been near a classroom in years but rather based on research. Principals and administrators should be required to have actual classroom experience not just a token internship.

In the "olden days" teaching was a valued profession, unfortunately that is no longer true. No one goes into education for the money, teachers choose education because they believe they can make a difference in the lives of the students they will teach. When that belief is repeatedly smothered with the minutiae of lesson plans that must match the approved template, committee meetings again with a template for how meetings must be conducted. Valuable teacher time is wasted as teachers struggle to comply with the expected standards making to sure to cover each to administrative satisfaction.

For the record, I retired from Brunswick County Schools January 1st of this year leaving earlier than I originally planned. Having taught more than thirty years in various subject areas, in different states and in a variety of school settings, I have two educational master's degrees plus additional training and certification in remedial education and alternative education. I miss my students every day but I do not miss the politics, the games or the frustration. I am proud of what I accomplished and am happy to see my former students succeeding as adults today. Some of them are teachers too!"

Just hoping I didn't miss any glaring grammatical errors!