How do you measure success? Contrary to public opinion, it often bears no relationship to test scores and school rankings.
The stories in the Features section illustrate some of the ways in which CTA members are achieving success. Chula Vista teachers have found a way to set good examples for boys from disadvantaged families. Oroville teachers are working on a farm to help special education students cultivate life skills. A Sweetwater teacher is giving journalism students unusual opportunities to field-test the skills they learn in class. A San Jose teacher is motivating continuation students to strive for champion status. And a Modesto teacher is rallying her students and the community around the idea that prejudice is no laughing matter.
It's evident that teachers around the state are pulling off miracles - some large ones and many small ones - nearly every day.
Successes and small miracles can be found every day, in nearly every classroom, for those who take the time to look. Success might be obvious, like an A+ written in bright red ink at the top of a paper, and the ear-to-ear grin of the student with the paper in hand. Success might be as subtle as a small hand that rises for the very first time, a hand belonging to a student finally confident enough to speak aloud in class. Success might happen years later, when a student says you are still the best teacher he or she ever had.
Members of the Circle of Little Brothers in Chula Vista collapse onto the floor in a team-building activity.
Success, contrary to popular opinion, is not just measured in test scores, API ranking and teacher bonuses. A sixth-grade student reading at second-grade level can be brought to fourth-grade level during the course of a year. Even though test scores categorize the student as still performing below grade level, the teacher knows this counts as a success.
Sometimes success is very personal: a teacher suffering burnout finds renewed meaning in his work by going out on a limb for an at-risk student; a successful business person leaves private enterprise to become a teacher and do something that "matters"; a mentor teacher extends a helping hand to a rookie on an emergency permit, perhaps keeping that person from leaving the profession.
Sometimes, in the world of teaching, there may be little in the way of feedback from one's peers. Teachers are often isolated from other adults when the classroom door swings shut. As a result, success must often be internalized. No one else may say so, but you know you are doing your best - and it shows.
"To me, success means showing up every day and being happy to be there," says Jane Smith, a counselor at Herbert Green Middle School in Placerville. "It's loving what you do - in spite of low pay, pressure and conflicts. That's success anywhere."
"Success isn't always something you see immediately," says Maudie Gooden-Leath, a resource specialist at Nueva Vista Continuation High School in Riverside. "Success, to me, is when kids come back to visit and don't have a hard luck story. I have had kids come back and talk about their lives. Some are lawyers; some are teachers; some are on the streets. Success is when they come back and say they were influenced by something I've done - and they are paying taxes."
"Having my second-grade students reach the goals I set for them - and the goals they set for themselves - makes me feel successful," says Paul Stickland, a teacher at Delaine Eastin Elementary School in Union City. "I want to make the kids a little more independent. I want them to come together and work as a community. I want them to be humble, dignified, and respectful. I want them to walk with honor. I also want them to have fun, because they are at the age that determines how they will view education for the rest of their lives. If I can make learning fun, I've done my job."
"If you have respect from your fellow teachers - they value you as a person and want you to be on their team - that's one sign of success," says Amy Tsubokawa, a retired elementary school teacher and NEA life member who works as a substitute and provides training at CTA conferences. "When kids run up to you on the playground and say, 'We're glad you're here,' you know that you have a successful relationship with the students."
Tsubokawa, a recipient of the NEA Human and Civil Rights Mary Hatwood Futrell Award, recalls, "A former student of mine, whom I had named to be in the gifted program, became one of the 200 'Outstanding Seniors' named by Radio Shack, and I saw his picture in Time magazine. Another student who was the salutatorian said, 'All my other classes were easy, because your classes were so hard - but I really learned from you.' Then I knew I was a success."
"As teachers, we cherish all our successes and hold them very dear to us," she adds. "I saved letters kids wrote at Christmas or at the end of the year about how much they valued me. Students said I was the best teacher they ever had. I treasure that."
Do teachers have a hard time feeling successful?
Sometimes they do. After all, when the media constantly runs stories that are critical of public schools, teachers and student achievement, it's bound to have an impact.
"Certainly the media could be a lot more positive about what we achieve on a day-to-day basis," says Smith, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a private practice, in addition to being a school counselor in Placerville. "It would be nice to see the media focus more on the positive instead of the negative."
Smith, a member of the Mother Lode Union School District Faculty Association, often sees teachers in dire need of emotional support when she conducts self-esteem workshops at CTA conferences and events.
"Many teachers suffer from low self-esteem. Last weekend, after one of my trainings, a teacher came back into the room to say thank you and get another hug. She said, 'I didn't sign up for this. I was placed here. I thought I needed stress management, but what I really needed was this self-esteem workshop.' To me, that's so telling."
"Part of the reason for low self-esteem is that teachers are being asked to do more and more, and it's never enough," says Smith. "There's a sense of being overwhelmed. We are stressed about our SAT-9 scores. We are being asked to achieve higher and higher accomplishments for our students and ourselves. We strive to better ourselves physically, emotionally, academically and spiritually. Then we're judged on our students' test scores instead of the whole package."
But poor self-esteem may involve deeper issues, observes Smith. "A lot of people go into the social services - including teaching - because they didn't have such great lives growing up. A lot of us come from pretty dysfunctional families and have a lot of baggage. Some of us had it worse than others. Some are the children of alcoholics. Some were abused as children. Many of us are driven by wanting to help make the world a better place - by being agents of change."
Teachers are resilient, says Smith. "That's how we survive."
"Teachers, by nature, tend to focus on the things that go wrong," says Stickland, a New Haven Teachers Association member and CTA trainer who gives workshops on dealing with gay and lesbian students. "It's important to look at problems, so that we can focus on what the solutions are and improve. But the negative shouldn't be our only focus. Teachers shouldn't beat themselves up."
"Because we want to save the world, we don't always see things as we should," says Gooden-Leath, an NEA-Jurupa member who also gives self-esteem workshops at CTA events. "It's easy to think, 'If I could just reach this one student …' instead of looking at all the students you did reach. We can't save everyone. Some things are predestined, because people have already decided whether or not they are going to be successful. Sometimes, no matter how much you push, people are going to do what they want to do."
She has felt the pain firsthand of not being able to save every student. "I've seen kids years later who are bums with a 'work for food' sign. It's very, very sad. They remember me. I want to cry, but it would be wasted tears. I could see where they were going, but they didn't listen. They had their agenda already made up."
"It's difficult to be a teacher today," says Gooden-Leath. "Politicians are making teachers accountable for society's woes. And instead of validation, we get blame."
As a result, teachers frequently become ill, Gooden-Leath comments. "A lot of teachers get burnt out. There are lots of teachers with illnesses, fighting breast cancer and taking Prozac. Teachers are such nurturers that they don't take time to take care of themselves."
"Sometimes there are a lot of negatives coming in that tend to take little chinks out of us," says Smith. "There's a 'chip theory' by Jack Canfield, which says that when one negative thing happens, it takes seven positive things to make up for it. We should try to get as many positive experiences as possible and bank them, so when something bad happens we have quite a bit in the bank to utilize. Teachers do that on a regular basis for children. Who does that for teachers?"
It's up to teachers to celebrate their own victories, she says. "Remind yourself of your successes. Smith asks her workshop participants to create a feel-good file. "Keep it accessible, not buried in a drawer. I have a file with feel-good letters from kids, parents and administrators. When I have a bad day, I pull out those letters and remember that I've done a lot of good over the years."
Thinking positive is crucial for teachers, says Smith. "Look at what's possible, not what isn't. I know what's possible; I'm a cancer survivor." She also suggests setting up a good support system of friends who can lift your spirits.
"One of the best pieces of advice I got was 'Leave it at the gate.' When I am driving to school, I take the personal things I have going on at home and drop them off at an imaginary gate. Then I leave my school problems at an imaginary gate when I go home. This helps maintain a positive attitude."
"When I get down, I talk to the children," says Tsubokawa. "Interacting with the children really lifts me up. I can't stress enough how positive kids can be for us. By interacting with them, I remember why I teach. It's all for them."
"Be joyous, if possible," says Gooden-Leath. "Find the good. Smell the flowers. Look at trees, the ocean and the beauty in the world. Be upbeat in your classroom by honoring and respecting kids. I keep my classroom full of laughter, and students tend to respond to that."
Sometimes, however, depression can set in. "If you need professional help, get it," she advises. "That's why we have doctors. It's important to get help if you need it."
Stickland stays positive and enthusiastic by taking on new challenges. "I look at every school year as a new beginning and a new opportunity, with a different set of circumstances. I always try to do three things:
"One is to grow professionally, by taking classes, mentoring other teachers and visiting other classrooms to see what other teachers are doing. I learn as much from new teachers as they learn from me.
"I try to keep a balanced personal life, and have a life outside of the classroom. This job can consume you if you let it. I don't make work for myself that keeps me at school until 7 o'clock at night. I get home at a reasonable hour and try not to bring work home. To be happy at work, you have to be happy at home. Don't take on too much. Pick and choose your passions.
"I get a great deal of satisfaction by getting involved in my profession. I like making change. I've seen direct change not only in my school and school district, but also statewide from things I've worked on. Being involved politically makes my job even more fulfilling."
Stickland admits that he doesn't always follow his own advice.
"There are times when I get bogged down. When things get to be too much, it's time to stop, regroup, reprioritize and take a deep breath. Count to 10 and keep on going. Focus on things you have done well. Think about your triumphs. Tell yourself, 'I have done many good things, and I can do more.'
Members of the Circle of Little Brothers in Chula Vista collapse onto the floor in a team-building activity.
