Teachers leave classroom due to issues

Former English teacher Lesley Russo flipped off the light switches in her classroom, ready to say goodbye to her teaching career and the students.

“I thought it was the most rewarding career I’ve ever had,” Russo said.  “I enjoyed not only teaching, but helping guide students through their lives. Teaching was more than a job for me; it was a passion.”

Former AP Language and Composition teacher Dr. Roy Starling also said that he misses the students.

“I miss the classroom dynamics, especially being in a conversation with bright and interesting young people,” Starling said.  “I miss making them laugh, and their making me laugh, and trying to answer their questions and their trying to answer mine. The classroom was my home, the students were my beloved guests, and I always wanted to make them feel at home.”

According to former ceramics teacher Robert Lawarre, interactions with other educators were equally as important as interactions with students.

“It’s not just teacher-to-student, it’s student-to-teacher, it’s teacher-to-teacher, it’s the sharing as well as the inspiration that comes along with those interactions,” Lawarre said.  “That inspiration goes both ways: my students inspired me to be a better person and a better artist and a better educator.”

End of era

Eventually, for Starling, the joy of the student interactions was overshadowed by changes in the system as a whole.

“The profession I enjoyed is gone, abducted by brainless useless standardized tests, endless, disruptive ‘improvements’ and far, far too many restrictions on teachers,” Starling said.  “Teachers are no longer asked to use their own talents and gifts, but to do the will of the State, to stay on the same page as their colleagues, to teach what they’re told and how they’re told. It’s disgraceful and I was really fortunate to be old enough to retire once those methods invaded the profession.”

For Russo, the decision to leave was based on financial concerns.

“It’s difficult to raise children on a teacher’s salary,” Russo said.  “I began my new career at a higher salary than I would have reached as a retiring teacher.”

Lawarre has found success in running a machine shop with his dad.

“It may seem like a strange direction to go from teaching art, but there are a lot of connections there from working with your hands,” Lawarre said.  “It’s all things I learned growing up, but that I also taught in my class that can be translated into other subject areas.”

Additionally, Lawarre still teaches—just not in a regular classroom.

“I’ve been teaching workshops abroad and in the states,” Lawarre said. “Part of how I allowed myself to leave that full-time position and take the next step was the fact that I was continuing to teach, just in a different situation. I saw my role changing in a way that I could help other educators in a broad scope and have the trickle-down effect.”

Advice for future

Though Starling believes the entire system needs to be rebuilt, he advises new teachers to truly care for their students.

“Ask yourself this: What is the one vital gift I have to offer my students, something no other teacher can offer?” Starling said.  “Then do whatever it takes to give that one thing to your students.”

Russo recommends new teachers ensure they have a second income, then get into the passion of teaching.

“Get ready to have the most rewarding career of your life…you have the opportunity to change a life!” Russo said.

New teachers join profession due to passion

Math teacher Tara Skaggs flipped on the lights switches of her classroom, ready to greet the students for the new year.

Skaggs always had a passion for teaching and helping others.

“As a student growing up, I was always paired with other kids to help them understand material being taught in math class,” Skaggs said. “I loved when I was able to explain something to them in a way that they had something I call a ‘Light Bulb Moment.’ Their eyes go wide; they finally understood what I was telling them.  That is why I teach–to help every student have ‘Light Bulb Moments’ for math class everyday!”

English teacher Michael McCarthy also said he was raised to teach.

“My aunt who raised me was a librarian, so that culture of reading and books and being in a school was very strong in my family,” McCarthy said. “I definitely enjoy sharing what I know with other people.”

For some teachers, the students are the reason they continue to stay.

“Without them and their personalities, teaching can be very dull,” Skaggs said.  “I love how they work with information and even if I teach the exact same thing every period, it is a unique teaching opportunity for each one.”

English teacher Skylar Rush also said that students are the best part of his job.

“Above all, I love working with students to make the high school experience inside the classroom as beneficial as it is fun,” Rush said.

McCarthy is inspired by the students and, therefore, is inspired to teach.

“It’s such a collaborative environment,” McCarthy said. “It’s always amazing what you can do as a teenager; they are extremely capable of a lot. I get inspired by them and it’s always interesting to hear different perspectives all the time.”

Fears for future

“My only true fear is that teachers will never get the credit they deserve,” Skaggs said. “In other countries, teachers are treated and paid the same as doctors and lawyers. Which, I believe, is the way it should be, since no other profession can occur without teachers.”

Aspiring teacher junior Alex Wagahoff also thinks that the wages are an issue, yet they won’t affect her career choice.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” Wagahoff said. “I think they deserve more than they get paid. But it’s not a problem for me because I’d be able to teach what I love.”

McCarthy agrees that the wages can be a problem in his day-to-day life, yet they don’t affect his choice.

“There’s always been this discussion about the value of teaching and the wages they’re paid,” McCarthy said. “When I chose this career, it was more out of what I wanted to do and not for wages.”

Best career

Rush does believe that despite the lack of credit, teaching still beats any other job he has had.

“I worked in restaurants, bars, in landscaping, metal shops, auto repair, plant nurseries, as a full-time musician and as a freelance writer,” Rush said. “Teaching is the first job that I wake up excited about, and that says something, because I’m not exactly what you’d call a ‘morning person.’”

McCarthy said that, despite any difficulty teaching, he still enjoys it more than his previous careers in public relations.

“It’s hard making a career change, but the first week that I was in a school I just knew; everything from the working with the students and the environment,” McCarthy said.  “It’s such a creative environment.  It’s just very refreshing.”

Rush agrees that he will stay a teacher.

“I plan to continue to teach because it’s in my blood,” Rush said.  “Because it’s who I am. Because I don’t want to spend my days doing anything else ever again.”