NEWS & NOTES
Editor’s Notebook Nearly 20 years ago, I was a sixth-year teacher working at a middle school in California when I got some of the most powerful advice I ever received as an educator. I was grading and planning in my classroom on a Saturday, and a veteran teacher saw me through an open door. “Mind if I come in?” he said. Jack taught seventh-grade social studies. He was a kind man, a running and fitness buff, nearing the end of his career, well-liked by staff and students alike, and married to a school nurse who worked in the main office. I taught eighth-grade combined language arts-social studies classes. After a couple minutes of small talk, he asked me how many weekends I worked a month. I was sheepish, and well into my second pregnancy, but admitted: “A lot.” He took a deep breath and hesitated. He asked if he could offer friendly advice, and I agreed. “Some years back, I lost my teenage daughter to a drunk driver,” he said. “It was the worst thing that ever could have happened to me, and the pain was indescribable. Some people in that situation lose themselves in alcohol or drugs, but I chose something else. I lost myself in my work. “I started working from morning to night and every weekend to escape the pain. I continued for a long time, until I not only lost myself—I lost my marriage and my family and my happiness. Now that experience is past, and I’m happily remarried to Donna, but it taught me. I learned a teacher’s work is never done, and this job will take whatever you give it—and always ask for more. “This profession is a hungry beast that is never satisfied. You have to accept that fact or pay the price—in terms of your health, or time with loved ones, or happiness. Learn how to give what it needs and save the rest for yourself. Know that it will always demand more, and figure out when to stop.” Jack wasn’t burned out or advising me to change professions. He had plunged into a dark abyss and emerged to offer wisdom of the ages. I’ve been grateful to have many teachers share guidance over my whole life— and I’ve paid it forward. That is what educators do. It’s who we are. This issue’s cover story is testament to the work that educators undertake daily in a difficult labor of love that transcends lesson plans or test scores. One teacher from the story describes his work as getting to know kids and helping them find their way through a day, a week, a year. “Academics is a piece, but there’s so much more to who these young people are, who they want to be, and who they will grow into,” says Tom Hopper, a seventh-grade social studies teacher in Okemos. Elsewhere in this issue, educators everywhere are struggling through a dark time and speaking up to raise awareness (13-16); there is good news on student loan debt forgiveness (22-23); and MEA is testing new ways to create space for meaningful mentoring of early career educators (18-21). The challenges—and students’ needs—are great. Our efforts have impact, even when we can’t see it, so here is hoping this season’s gift of time begins to restore our spirits for the important work ahead. 4 DEC 2021 – JAN 2022
—Brenda Ortega, editor
The number of techniques that charter schools use to control which students enroll, thereby limiting at-risk, special education and transient students who can be more expensive to educate, according to a new book, School’s Choice: How Charter Schools Control Access and Shape Enrollment. Written by two education researchers, Wagma Mommandi and Kevin Welner, the book lists gate-keeping practices such as pricing out (with fees), assigning parent homework, counseling out, denying services, and creating hoops as barriers. The book also explores recommendations to address the problem.
QUOTABLES “We stand united today to ask that you consider a fair and equal distribution of our wage chart to recognize that each and every one of us is valuable to the district, no matter what role we play.” Myra Bray, president of Lapeer Education Support Personnel, speaking at a November school board meeting to encourage resolution of contract talks ongoing since January. Members of the ESP unit lined Main Street for informational picketing before the meeting. Read more at mea.org/ support-staff-picket-lapeer.
