Leaving the Rez!

[rhondabrwn]

I guess it's time for the official announcement.

June 3rd will be my last day as a teacher. I will be leaving Pinon, Navajo Nation, and moving down to Snowflake, Arizona where I am purchasing a 40 acre horse ranch for my slightly early retirement (I'll be 64 next October). One of my best and longest Navajo friends found it for me so I'd be close to her. It was a very lucky find... it's way out there, heavily wooded, and totally energy independent (wind and solar with propane powered backup generators) a well, and septic system. Still close enough to a major highway to get Verizon wi-fi for an internet connection so I'll still be in touch.

I'll be starting with the seller's three horses (I'll be taking care of them for at least a year) and my Navajo friend is bringing her horses over as well. I expect to have between 5 and 10 horses there within the first month. Going to work on having a goat herd and running a couple of steers. I'm taking my four dogs down to join the two already on the ranch so I'll have a healthy pack.

I may do some college level teaching (online courses), but will probably just focus for awhile on getting the ranch in order, learning as much as I can about horses (been a lifelong reader of horse books, but it's still all theory for me). Luckily I'll have my friends to help me out. I expect to finally find the time to actually master some of the games that I have been buying and may be looking for new PBEM buddies soon. I intend to cut back on new stuff though... except for World in Flames (at some future point) [:D]

I've enjoyed my teaching experiences on the rez, but I can no longer tolerate the increasing bureaucratic meddling and mandates that keep coming down on top of us. This last year, I tried to follow all their rules and teach the way the dictated and I felt it was a disaster for me and for my kids. This is the first year that I wasn't their favorite class.. instead... they were bored to tears with the forced curriculum I had to follow, mandated use of various academic theories, requirements for things like having to use a "graphic organizer" for each class and... well, I could go on ranting for hours. In essence, I no longer control what and how I teach, and have to deal with constant threats if I don't follow the program. Fortunately, I don't have to take it any longer because I have options... and I quit. Until this nation wises up and stops trying to make teachers the scapegoats for our social ills while cutting budgets to the bone I can't really recommend that anyone enter the teaching profession. Many of our young teachers are already regretting their decision, but have no options at the moment but to stick it out. At the High School, the entire English Department resigned in mass protest. I've lost track of how many departures there are... at least 20 officially resigned already. Lots of fresh meat applying though... the economy is just that bad for teachers at the moment.

End rant.. I had five great years and one disappointing and stressed out year... I can live with that. I've got great memories and am looking forward to my retirement [:)]

[SLAAKMAN]

I've enjoyed my teaching experiences on the rez, but I can no longer tolerate the increasing bureaucratic meddling and mandates that keep coming down on top of us. This last year, I tried to follow all their rules and teach the way the dictated and I felt it was a disaster for me and for my kids. This is the first year that I wasn't their favorite class.. instead... they were bored to tears with the forced curriculum I had to follow, mandated use of various academic theories, requirements for things like having to use a "graphic organizer" for each class and... well, I could go on ranting for hours. In essence, I no longer control what and how I teach, and have to deal with constant threats if I don't follow the program. Fortunately, I don't have to take it any longer because I have options... and I quit. Until this nation wises up and stops trying to make teachers the scapegoats for our social ills while cutting budgets to the bone I can't really recommend that anyone enter the teaching profession. Many of our young teachers are already regretting their decision, but have no options at the moment but to stick it out. At the High School, the entire English Department resigned in mass protest. I've lost track of how many departures there are... at least 20 officially resigned already. Lots of fresh meat applying though... the economy is just that bad for teachers at the moment.

Wow. I think my daughter who is in 8th grade is experiencing this kind of frustration as well. She resents being pushed too hard.
Good luck with your decision.

[junk2drive]

Thank you for your service to our country shaping young minds for the future. I hope you enjoy your new pastime. I also hope you can find a way to teach something, maybe to do with horses.

[David Heath]

Hey I am sorry to hear about the crap you have had to deal with and God Bless you on your new plan.

David

[JWW]

Hi.  I'm in my 19th year of teaching after a military career, and it is becoming harder and harder for me.  I want to teach for 25 years, but I think I'll settle for 20 as things continue to change.  In Louisiana we're adding "value added assessment," meaning an arcane formula will be used to measure my effectiveness as a teacher based on how my students do on one state-mandated test at the end of the school year.  The formula can 'predict' what each student should score on the standardized test based on a variety of factors, and I'll be evaluated based on whether my students meet the projected scores or not.  And since the district, the school, the students, and the teachers are assessed primarily on that one test, everything will be structured, even more than ever, to focus on the test.    I teach high school English, and the joy of teaching American and British lit are just being sucked out of the courses because of the focus on standardized testing.   I know many more good veteran teachers who are leaving the field because they feel like they are considered the enemy by the state and the public.  And I know young teachers who are wondering what they have stepped into and thinking of leaving the profession.  As one example, I can no longer find a logical reason for teaching any novels to my students, because everything on the standardized test is based on analyzing short reading selections. I could go on and on, but I won't.  Good luck in your new endeavor.

[parusski]

I too thank you for your long service in a difficult job. Good luck.

[Phatguy]

Its just as bad up here in New York.......... They are happy as clams to consider "See Spot Run" as a great classic because this is pretty much what they think these kids are capable of mentally. In 6th grade... My daughter in 9th grade was so bored of the regurtitated pap she was forced to endure we switched her to a charter school...Don't really blame the teachers on this but looking at the materials she has to work with now compared to my books from the past makes me cry....America is doomed

[Zap]

Well, Rhonda enjoy the new life. Though horses (particularly) will occupy much of your time. Being an animal lover I'm sure wil will relish your new duties as a rancher.
I'd have trouble with the clean up involved with that many horses. I look forward to doing as little as possible when I retire.

Your ready for the bills that will come with feeding hoarses? they do cost a lot to maintain.

[freeboy]

Good luck and blessings on your new venture... Teaching is a challenge, teaching with a straight jacket on is beyond the challenge, its often an endurance contest. While I am saddened to hear, I am not suprised, the trends to not teach kids how to learn, but some sort of standard information goes hand in hand with your top down idiocy in charge rant... again, I am saddened. As for the ranch I assume you have had ranching and horse work experience? If not lean heavily on the friends, horses are fantastic and your situation with a self sufficient ranch sounds ideal.. other than you are in AZ. lol that was a friendly dig from somene stuck in CO...
 

[JudgeDredd]

Good luck Rhonda. Enjoy your retirement.

[sabre1]

Good Luck Rhonda.

I have 5 more years to go, and yes it's getting ridiculous in education.

They don't want teachers, they want monkeys who can jump through the hoop. I agree with you, I steer everyone away from being a teacher. The rewards are just not there anymore, but like you said there is always fresh meat for the government grinder.

Since you live in a right to work state I didn't have to include the union garbage that we get in Caliwearebrokefornia.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

... I had five great years and one disappointing and stressed out year... I can live with that. I've got great memories and am looking forward to my retirement [:)]

Now you can really get into gaming.

[Titanwarrior89]

I spent alot of time in Farmington New Mexico in recruiting. The Rez was part of my area in and around northern NM and Arizona. Enjoyed the people and the area(Shiprock). Good luck with your change.[:)]

[planner 3]

Good Luck in your new venture, horses are much smarter than bureaucrats. Just for giggles keep watching the teaching situation in my state of Florida, i'm sure you'll notice many parallels (sp?)with the Rez.  Good Luck, Smooth sailing.

[michael1776]

I am truly sorry to hear you have to leave teaching. Although it does sound like you have chosen a very rewarding working retirement. I can sympathize with your choice, however. I too had to quit teaching a few years back. I came out of college with an MS in history, a BA in secondary education and a superabundance of drive to teach kids. After five years trying to work in the New York State Regents system my drive was completely gone, my marriage was a wreck due to long hours away from home, and no matter what I did and how hard I worked those kids just didn't care. A few did. But I could no longer continue to sacrifice so that 2 out of every 80 kids I taught actually learned, and enjoyed it. It's a shame what government has done to education in this country. Until someone realizes that standardized education cannot, and will not work it isn't going to get any better.

Congratulations, I think you will find that you are going to be much better off. And working with the horses will probably be a much more rewarding experience for you.

-MJ

[Perturabo]

Fun fact:
While I'm perfectly able to read novels, participate in internet discussions and read military stuff, I have great problems with reading stuff for school.
When I read the school stuff, I usually forget what I'm reading very fast (usually before finishing a sentence) and I often have to re-read the sentence several times to realise what I'm reading. And I often forget it all just after reading anyway.
Since I'm learning technical stuff (Computer Science), I have great difficulties with doing assignments as I have to read assignments many times to understand them, I need to read instructions many times to do anything. It makes learning for school not only exceedingly difficult but also extremely unappealing.

On the other hand I don't have any difficulty when for example working on a mod or reading military history or about military technology and I automatically hyperfocus on stuff like that.

[SlickWilhelm]

I commend you for being able to stick it out in that profession for as long as you did, Rhonda. I lasted a mere 5 years as a public school teacher before I got burned out and disillusioned. In 1995 I resigned at the end of my 5th year, made a sharp left turn into the IT field, and have never looked back.

You want to talk about a thankless job...

[Perturabo]

Wow. What makes people want to become teachers in primary/secondary/high schools anyway?

[rhondabrwn]

Wow! Thanks for all the good thoughts guys

It seems I'm definitely not alone in my perception of the growing problems in American Education. Perturabo wanted to know why anyone would want to be a teacher... and other than a strong tendency for masochism, it's hard to come up with reasons these days. If you are truly wanting to make a difference in society (as most teachers do), you will find yourself ground down by the system.

I've just reached the point where I can no longer even fake enthusiasm for the latest mandate. I read academic literature just full of self-serving technical terms with no relevance to the actual situation in our school and I just get disgusted. They took a batch of our newer teachers over to Las Vegas for a three day retreat at UNLV and they returned with the same reaction I had when I went a few years back: college professors who haven't been in an actual classroom in years (if ever) lecturing you on research that is years out of date (like from their doctoral dissertation). Total waste of time and money, but the Dept of Education mandates that we have some kind of formal "School Improvement" scheme in place so we pay UNLV A couple of hundred thousand dollars a year for these consulting services. The same for a mandated "Teacher Evaluation System" so we pay much money for another packaged system that attempts to evaluate teaching with a complex rating system based on one or two classroom observations. That trend is occurring everywhere and is the principle focus of "Race to the Top" and other school improvement efforts... only these complex evaluation systems based on some theoretical model of teaching can save us. As was previously mentioned in this thread, now they are moving to tie your evaluation into how your kids do on a standardized test (again based on some committee's idea of what should be taught).

Well there we go... I ranted anyway [:@]

Anyway, it gives you an idea of the frustration levels felt by teachers these days. The system also encourages cheating - our 6th grade teachers got a big bonus last year based on their student's NWEA test results - then it was discovered that they had retested students as many as 7 times until they got the required level of improvement. That was blocked this year and they came in last, but they didn't take back their $4,000 bonuses from last year. Salary levels are reduced by the amount of bonus money we can earn under a state program, but we rarely see a payout due to the performance requirements that are impossible to meet without cheating. Remember, our kids come up from Elementary reading at a 2nd grade level on average, but we have to bring them up to 8th grade level to meet the required standards. They improve, but it's never enough to get 70% of all students caught up to grade level or to meet computer generated growth targets. Our 8th grade hit 69% for Language Arts and 57% on math so no bonus money for us again this year... for the 10th year in a row. No surprises... we knew the odds were stacked against us ever qualifying. When it affects students this is technically called "learned helplessness" - I think that's where most educators are headed if they don't actually quit the profession.

I'm so happy to be retiring I do expect the animals to fill my time though since I won't own any of the horses until I buy my own, the expense is going to be borne by the prior owners who will board with me and my friend who bring out hay for her horses and assist with their care. It won't be me trying to maintain 10 horses! I'll be able to gain experience before starting to build my own herd. From my reading, however, I can already tell that none of these horses that I'll be caring for are getting anything like the minimum care specified in the books (frequent vet visits, vaccinations, farrier care every month, worming, daily grooming and so much more). Horses out here tend to be fed some hay and left to graze on their own (and generally do fairly well except for the wild ones who pretty much starve during the winter). Currently we have at least three distinct herds running wild here in Pinon with as many as 20 horses each. I've never seen so many. I think people are turning their horses out because they can't afford to buy the hay to feed them. During the winter I see lots of people selling hay, but this Spring, hardly anyone is down on the road selling so I have to deduce that all these horses I am seeing have been turned out and no one is buying hay for them.

It's going to be the last great adventure of my life!

[pzgndr]

Unfortunately I see a lot of bureaucratic micromanagement requirements creeping into most all facets of our lives, not just education.  Nowadays there are ISO standards, training and certification requirements, performance metrics of all sorts, assessments and evaluations, etc. etc.  Sometimes I question if we should have so many experienced and talented folks providing oversight and "help", rather than providing the resources down where the "rubber meets the road" and getting things done.  And I speak from having been on both sides, as licensee and regulator.  We keep raising the bar with all these oppressive requirements to the point where nobody can seriously grasp the whole thing.  It's like the damn tax code; who can possibly understand it all?? 
 
I reflect back on my days as a light infantry rifle platoon leader and all the stuff I needed to know how to do.  Did I carry 5,000 pages of manuals and procedures in my rucksack?  Hell no.  I had a handful of things like a Call-For-Fire card and stuff like that and my head full of simple principles that I could remember at 0200 in the morning.  We make everything so complicated these days for fear of making any minor mistake.  IMHO, it's downright counter-productive in the long run.  And turning off a lot of folks who should otherwise be happy and productive professionals.  It's a shame.