Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/556394
Eve n t u a l ly, h e b e c a m e a n exc e l l e n t teacher, and found being in the classroom a source of great joy. "Seriously, teaching is the best profes- sion there is," says Heins, flashing a boyish grin. "It's way better than anything — even being president." Heins went back to school for his multi- ple subject credential, worrying that music te a c h e rs wo u l d b e t h e f i rs t o n e s p i n k - slipped during budget cuts. He earned his master's degree in language and literacy education and his read- ing specialist credential from UC Berkeley, all while teaching second grade. "I would teach all day and go to classes at night. I could go t o c l a s s a n d s ay, ' T h i s i s w h a t h a p p e n e d i n my c l a s s - r o o m t o d a y,' a n d w e ' d t a l k about it. It was wonderful. It was like therapy." I t w a s b e f o r e N o C h i l d Left Behind (NCLB) and the age of testing, so Heins could b e i n n o v a t i v e . H e t a u g h t a m u l t i a ge c l a s s ro o m w h e re s t u d e n t s w e r e g r o u p e d b y a b i l i t y r a t h e r t h a n a ge . H i s c l a s s ro o m o f f e re d t h e m a t i c , project-based learning. "It doesn't get any better," h e s ays o f t h a t e ra . " We m e t s t u d e n t s w h e r e t h e y w e r e , n o t w h e r e w e w a n t e d t h e m t o b e . We t a u g h t s t u d e n t s based on their needs and focused on the multiple intelligences and unique ways t h a t d i f f e re n t s t u d e n t s l e a r n . I t wa s a n exciting time." Becoming an activist A c o l l e ge p ro f e s s o r a t U C I r v i n e t o l d Heins that it was his "professional duty" to join Student CTA. He enjoyed the social get-togethers and saw joining the union as a "defensive" move in case he ever needed help, doubting he ever would. After passing his two-year probation- ary period in Pittsburg, Heins was asked to be a site rep by his union president. At his very first meeting, he was asked to be grievance chair. "I said, 'OK, what's a grievance?'" Heins recalls. "That's how ignorant I was." W h e n a n e w s u p e r i n t e n d e n t b e g a n treating teachers unfairly, Heins became extremely busy. "Before I was grievance chair, Pittsburg Education Association filed one grievance every two years. By the second year I was grievance chair, we'd filed almost 100." Heins was elected chapter president and also served as bargaining chair. He was the immediate past president in 2000 when his chapter went on strike over health benefits, salary, and the district's refusal to provide benefits for domestic partners. "That strike may have taken 20 years off my life," says Heins. "It was ugly and personal. A lot of what happened during that time drives my outlook on life and unionism. I can't believe how many of our members stepped up to the plate. Our dis- trict thought we were apathetic. But they were wrong. We came together. We fought for what was right." H e i n s wa s i nvo l u n t a r i ly t r a n s f e r re d to another school in a retaliatory move by his district. Nothing in his entire life has ever made him angrier. But it only strengthened his resolve and commitment t o u n i o n i s m a n d p ro t e c t i n g t h e r i g h t s of workers. During that period he attended a CTA conference, enrolling in a workshop about "hidden minorities." It wasn't planned, but in that session he came out as gay. Shortly there- after, he came out to colleagues at school. "It seemed very natural," says Heins, who lives with his husband David in South- ern California. "Without the support of CTA, I probably wouldn't have done it, although eventually it would have come out, because that's who I am." He became a CTA cadre trainer for LGBTQIA (les- bian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, questioning/queer, intersex, ally/asexual) leadership training, conducted "Breaking the Silence" workshops, and chaired the CTA Diversity Committee. "As I became more of an activist advo- cating for LGBTQIA issues, I realized the values that I support are also the val- ues CTA supports for social justice. As I learned more about the political process, I understood that if I believed in something that wasn't policy, I could be the change to make it happen." Heins with second-graders at Bagby Elementary in San Jose, participating in Read Across America 2014. 13 V O L U M E 2 0 I S S U E 1