Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/635847
Lanny Lowery E N G L I S H T E A C H E R Rohnert Park-Cotati Educators Association At 68, Lanny Lowery is frequently asked when he plans to retire. He says he's taking it a year at a time, because he doesn't feel his age and his job doesn't feel like work. It seems like yesterday when he began teaching at Rancho Cotati High School, but it's been 35 years. His first teaching gig happened when he was still in high school; he took over a "hoodlum" class that a new teacher had fled in tears. Soon he had things under control and was reading The Odyssey aloud to students. The way he sees it, teaching allows him to be paid for talking about things he loves: good books. He has sent only one student to the principal's office during his entire career. There is one thing he is retiring from, however, and that is being on his chapter's bargaining team for more than two decades. Remain cheerful: I told myself I wouldn't be that older teacher who was grumpy and hanging on until retirement. I believe that every period of every day I ought to be smiling and laughing, so I always tell a joke or two. Be active: I enjoy running and bicycling to stay fit. I did competition running for a long time. I also enjoy mentoring new teachers at Sonoma State University. It keeps me ener- gized, and I feel I'm making a difference. Don't stress: I try not to worry about test scores or the Common Core or other things. In the end, I do what's best for kids. But every year I try to improve what I'm doing. I am always striving to be better. Teacher Experience Matters Classroom veterans do make a difference in students' lives. Edu- cation Week recently reported that new studies positively link teacher experience with student achievement and other benefits for students, including decreased absenteeism and better behavior. John P. Papay, assistant professor of education and eco- nomics at Brown University and co-author of one of the studies, found that teacher quality develops over time and teachers improve their ability to boost student achievement by 40 percent between their 10th and 30th year for reading and math, based on test scores. Students with teachers with years of experience had lower rates of absenteeism and better behavior. Researchers attribute this to veteran teachers being better at motivating students and classroom management, resulting in better attendance and fewer disciplinary problems. "In all, the new studies paint teacher quality as a mutable characteristic that can be developed, rather than a static one that's formed in the first few years on the job," states Education Week. "That's a welcome change for the 3 mil- lion-member National Education Association, which has long concluded that teacher expe- rience matters and should be considered in determining pay and promotions." 22 cta.org F E A T U R E