THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504070201
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
Margaret Stuart (`` `Second-class' city with `third-class' schools,'' letter, April 2) really set off a lot of commotion among the faculty at my school.
Teachers in Virginia, regardless of their age or former military status, must complete a multifaceted degree program from an accredited institution. Usually the coursework alone is about 160 hours. Good teaching comes from adequate preparation and, most important, experience in the classroom. I know of no one who has become a good teacher ``overnight.'' The city hires a variety of qualified persons to teach its students. This allows for diversity, not just a school full of ``tired, middle-aged mothers'' and ``tired, retired, Navy men.''
Red Mill's faculty is dedicated, tireless, enthusiastic, talented, well-qualified (many have master's degrees or more), and many are parents of students within the system. Our school may be slightly overcrowded due to growth in this area, the excellent reputation our school has and the fact that Virginia Beach is a wonderful place to live and work. In this day and age the two-worker family is almost necessary. Teaching provides the opportunity to work with children and some time for one's own family also.
We all have choices as parents in regard to how and where we wish to have our children educated. All people who choose private or parochial schools have their reasons. These people still contribute to the tax base which helps support education. (Dr. Faucette's children attend First Colonial High School.)
May I suggest that Ms. Stuart become a parent volunteer in our schools. Perhaps then she will see first-class education at work.
Nancy Wagner
Red Mill Elementary
I am not a tired Navy man. I am a Navy man who has completed his military obligation and has been enrolled in Old Dominion University's Military Career Transition Program for the past three years, attending graduate classes in the evening hours. This program is de-signed to train military personnel to become teachers. Students earn a master's degree in education and teacher certification in Virginia.
I enrolled in this program because I feel that I can make a difference in the classroom. I will accomplish this by using the experi-ence I've gained in the Navy over the past 24 years. I know how to motivate and lead people. I was an Educational Services Officer for three years at a previous command.
If Ms. Stuart thinks she can do a better job than today's teachers, she should go to school, get her teaching degree and license, and teach the children. She'll quickly find out that teaching, like military service, is a thankless job. The only time we hear from anyone is when they perceive that something is wrong or broke. Then, all of a sudden, we are at fault.
Al Albers
Virginia Beach
I am a student in the eighth grade. My teacher is a middle-aged mother who sends her child to Norfolk Academy. She is one of the best teachers who has ever taught me.
Middle-aged mothers can teach as well or possibly better than teachers who are fresh from college because they have so much more experience with children.
Kathleen Moran
Virginia Beach
My two sons went through 12 years of public school here. I'm sure we have many middle-aged teachers to thank for their success at UVA and Randolph-Macon!
In the 20 years that I've been teaching in Virginia Beach, I've always been amazed at how willing most teachers are to attend classes, conferences, workshops and seminars to better meet the needs of their many students. The majority are held on evenings, weekends and during the summer at a personal cost to each of us attending.
Any school system has room for improvement, and certainly so does ours. We do have a great deal to be proud of when one compares Virginia Beach to a group of its ``peers.''
I'm sure that Ms. Stuart would find many of us middle-aged teachers more than willing to help channel her interest and energy into a more positive, supportive role.
Carolyn Rowe
Red Mill Elementary
Schoolteachers of all ages, gender, race, religious backgrounds and degrees of experience are employed by the school system. Having three children in elementary and middle schools, I have been fortunate to meet some of the best educators. These teachers have taught and continue to teach many children with varying abilities and social backgrounds. Considering the hours they work with our children, they are one of the most unappreciated groups in our society.
Does Ms. Stuart not want teachers to raise their own children? What would she have them do? Place them in orphanages, as kindly suggested by Newt Gingrich? And God forbid if any teacher ``ages''; he or she should immediately be replaced by ``fresh college students with new ideas and enthusiasm.'' Should we all be put ``out to pasture'' as we grow older?
Let's try to improve our community instead of sinking it with intolerance and negativism.
Nivea T. Velazquez
Virginia Beach
I am one of the ``tired Navy men not trained to teach.'' I have taught at Plaza Middle School for three years now, ``trying to supplement my retirement income,'' according to Ms. Stuart. I have thought that I was doing something I loved, for which I had a real talent, and that I honestly think has made a positive difference in many of my students' lives. Apparently the overwhelmingly positive evaluations I have received from the annual parent-perception surveys in which I have voluntarily participated are wrong.
For the record, after serving nearly 22 quite-distinguished years in the Navy, I attended an intensive program at ODU to earn a master's degree in middle-school education, completing 36 graduate hours with a grade point average of 3.98. ``Taking a course or two to qualify''? Walk a mile in my shoes before your dare judge me!
A fine education can be earned by serious students in the public arena; it needn't be bought via a private school. All parents make individual choices for their own children. Teachers and vice mayors are no exception. They have the right to send their children to any schools they like, for whatever reasons.
Chris Nixon
Virginia Beach by CNB