Frank Watson: Teachers Mold the Future

I remember an ad on TV several years ago showing a teacher grading papers on her kitchen table late at night. That ad was instrumental in my becoming a teacher after I retired from the Air Force. I wanted to share the feeling of dedication that I felt in that hard working, underpaid teacher. That stereotypical servant is still alive and well in the small schools in Eastern Washington but is being replaced in some places by the angry image of union activists.

My first school was a one room country school that housed over forty students ruled by a single dedicated teacher.

Her name was Mrs McCrary.

She was ageless, shorter than most students in the eighth grade, and probably weighed less than 95 pounds.

Her kingdom included students from first grade through the eighth.

Each grade had its own row and she was able to teach different material to all eight rows simultaneously.

To this day, I don’t know how she did it.

Her discipline was iron fisted, but I never saw her strike a student.

The worse punishment I ever had was to have her look at me, shake her head, and tell me that she was disappointed.

I would rather have been hit.

The library book-mobile came once a month, and we were each allowed to check out two books.

When Mrs McCrary discovered that I read my two in less than a week, she allowed me to use her quota so I got four books a month.

I loved her forever.

My first job as a bonafide teacher was a one semester contract in Spokane.

The school advertised an open house my first week, and I looked forward to meeting the parents.

I showed up at the appointed time to find I was the only teacher there.

The open house consisted of a briefing in the cafeteria hosted by the principal.

When I asked why other teachers were not there, I was told that it wasn’t in the contract.

The contract was very detailed.

It specified that I was to remain available in my classroom for one half hour after my last class.

It was my first teaching job, and it took me more time to prepare than it did for the experienced staff.

But, when I stayed late to prepare for the next day, I was quickly informed that the contract did not say that I could stay and work late, nor could I come in early.

I was confused.

I thought the primary focus should be on kids and learning.

My second job was at a small school so far in the country that they didn’t pay any attention to what was happening in the city.

It was absolutely fulfilling.

My image of the dedicated teacher was restored, but when I saw the angry face of unionized teachers on TV threatening to strike, I wondered if our little school was isolated from the mainstream.

I talked to a friend of mine in the Washington Legislature, and he said that he found the teacher’s union to be self centered rather than student centered.

Does higher pay and smaller classrooms equate to better education? I was granted a sabbatical in 1999 and taught for a year in the public school in Japan.

The target class size goal was 40 students.

I had one class with 46 and had no more problems teaching English under those conditions than I did in Spokane with a class of 25.

I don’t think that Mrs McCrary would have worked any harder if she had additional benefits.

I wonder if she would have been more influential in kids lives if she had joined a union.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for over 18 years.)