Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1515721
facebook.com/wearecta @WeAreCTA youtube.com/californiateachers @WeAreCTA WeAreCTA #WeAreCTA For our full social media directory, see cta.org/social. 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 cta.org/educator. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have permissions. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA The Annual Report, at left, and a scene from the Year in Review video. CTA's Year in Review CTA's 2022–23 Annual Report and accompanying Year in Review video are available to members. Both showcase CTA and members' work to strengthen our union, support our students, advance public education, and build a more just and equitable society. Find the report at cta.org/22-23, and watch the video at cta.org/statecouncil. Multiplication Memories Editor's Note: A stock photo of a multiplication chart run in the Oct./Nov. issue contained errors, and publishing a reader's "corrected" version led to another error — but also, a good memory: This chart reminded me of an experience I had while covering a class for an absent teacher. At our middle school, the default opening assignment when covering a math class without a plan was to have the class write times tables. The students settled in. Soon a boy called out "What's 7 times 8?" I asked him, "What's 6 times 8?" He gave the correct answer. I said, "Now, add 8 more." One or more students responded, "Is that how it works?" Multiplication is just repeated addition. MARY STEWART CTA-NEA/Retired A Better Way Than the TPA Having just completed my TPAs this past summer, I could not agree more [with "Redundant, Stressful, Time-Consuming," Dec. 2023/Jan. 2024] that we need be a better way to assess the ability of new teachers in California. What I endured to receive a single subject credential in music was nothing short of ridiculous. [Despite being] a credentialed special education teacher since 2010 [and with 20 years' experience in the U.S. Air Force Band after completing a Bachelor of Music Education degree] I had to enter a credential program to teach music. This turned into a two-year, pencil-pushing waste of time that I would have declined to start had I not had veteran's benefits to cover the shockingly high cost. At no time during my music credential program did I learn anything about classroom instruction that 11 years of special education teaching experience had not already provided. I had to justify my level of expertise through submission of the TPAs to an unknown evaluator who had never observed me in the classroom. Whether one earns a preliminary credential or not should not be determined solely by how one can write the requisite number of buzz words in a series of documents that match videos clips with the same buzz words in the annotations. The programs need real mentors who observe candidates in the real-world setting of a classroom. This is where a true evaluation can be made of a teacher 's impact on student learning. ANTHONY SERES Vacaville Teachers Association 3 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 24 U P F R O N T