Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1035650
L E T U S K N O W W H A T Y O U T H I N K . We accept signed email and letters; we excerpt user posts from CTA social media platforms and californiaeducator.org. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have identifications and permissions. Opinions expressed by the writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA Students Get Published I loved the story on the book published by students ("Author, Author!" Aug./Sept. 2018). This will be the fourth year my students publish a book. We use Lulu.com, a self-pub- lishing site. The difference between Tonya McQuade's class and mine is that my class is comprised of special education students. The book focuses on their challenges throughout school and the fact that they are now seniors teetering on the brink of graduation. We also publish a soft cover book instead of an e-book. My students write, edit and rewrite again — sometimes a very difficult task for seniors with second-to-fourth grade skills. It's so exciting to hear other educators are spreading their students' words too! LYNN BOCCA Fairfield-Suisun Unified Teachers Association Challenge for Special Ed Teachers I have been waiting for CTA (and NEA, too) to address the continuing growth of IEP paperwork and meetings laid on special education teachers. Our jobs have morphed over the years from teaching students, to working as paras in other teachers' classrooms, to being "support " personnel for general educa- tion teachers. Most of the special education teachers I know are trying to exit the field to do what they wanted to do in the first place — work with children. If we had wanted to be case managers, we would have gone into social work. If we had wanted to be lawyers, we would have gone to law school. If we had wanted to be teachers' aides, we would have skipped college altogether. No one with any sense could possibly think that pulling teachers out of classrooms so they could spend 80-90 percent of their day in meetings, and filling out lengthy legal documents, is a good idea. I think it's time for teacher unions to get involved in fighting the ridiculous path that special education is trav- eling in this country. JANET ROCHE Lassen County Special Teachers Association 3 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 018 U P F R O N T #OurVoiceOurUnion #WeAreCTA For our full social media directory, see cta.org/social facebook.com/ wearecta @WeAreCTA youtube.com/ californiateachers @WeAreCTA WeAreCTA This year's book produced by Lynn Bocca's special ed students. Caption This! E X E R C I S E Y O U R C R E A T I V E M U S C L E S and enter our new GIF contest at CaliforniaEducator.org. While you're there, catch up on all the great Educator content you missed as well as the latest news and information. Photo courtesy Alaska Airlines. The winning caption for our CaliforniaEducator.org GIF contest: "Working off the summer weight." Kudos to NOR A ALLSTEDT, Exeter Teachers Association, who wins an eminently useful CTA canvas zippered tote.