Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/17719
Who’s teaching L.A.’s kids? game I’m not a teacher, but I grew up wanting to be one. I was in college when Proposition 13 passed and teaching jobs dried up in California. So instead I became a journalist. When newspaper jobs began to dry up, I was fortunate to land a position at CTA writing about teachers and public education. In a roundabout way it was coming full circle, workining in a different way on behalf of public education. I have had conversations with thousands of teachers through this job and volunteering in my children’s schools. I can truthfully say I haven’t met one teacher who seemed to have signed on for the money, for the glory, or because it was easy. Those min ci I’ve met believe they are making the world a better place and care deeply about helping their students achieve their full potential. They may work long hours, take work home with them, and pay for school supplies out of their own pockets, but they love what they do. I am constantly amazed at how they are able to do so much with so little. In the classrooms I visit, I see meaningful teaching and learning taking place. When I first started covering public education, it was assumed that teachers were the good guys. (To me they still are.) But these days it seems like teach- ers are under attack like never before. A few months ago, the cover of Newsweek showed 11 sentences Stories by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin • Photos by Scott Buschman SPECIAL ELECTION ISSUE OCTOBER 2010 | www.cta.org 25