Let me state the obvious:  not all teaching jobs are equal.

After spending two school years in Clark County, Nevada, I feel mentally exhausted by the barrage of need that faced me.  With about 37 students per class, it was enough just to learn names of students, let alone be familiar with their special learning needs.  Add to that the fact that many students were below grade level in at least one area of learning:  reading, writing, speaking, listening and you have the perfect storm of a tough job.

I know how to teach and how to run a classroom.  After a poor review in Clark County, I had begun to question my ability to do anything correctly.  Then I was asked to substitute in a small public school in NY.  The job:  sub for the middle school English teacher.  6th grade English and reading, 7th and 8th grade English.  No class had more than 17 students.  For the most part, they all had the required materials.  As the substitute, I was able to control the class, do the required work, and help the students who were having difficulty with the material.  All students were on task.

Compare that scenario with my experience in Clark County.  Only a fraction of students arrive with the necessary materials:  paper and pen.  Very few arrived having prepared for class by either reading the material or writing the homework.  None had any questions about what they needed to do because they couldn't understand the first time what the directions were.  Effective teaching was measured by how quiet a class was and whether or not the students worked when they were given a task.  This was my weakness.  I always had difficulty because I expected students to arrive prepared.  They did not.  When I sought help, none was given.  So, there I was, struggling.

But I don't struggle in a setting where students are expected to do their part.  I do struggle when students are allowed to do no work.  Hmmmm.  What does this say about the state of education?

Enter a Kindergarten classroom and you will see a well-organized bee hive.  There is a flurry of activity and each student knows what is expected of him/her.  The routine does not vary -- students have assigned jobs and they do them.  First is independent work, then some circle time where songs are sung and the weather is determined.  Next we have some math problems.  Then we go to centers where all the subjects get addressed.  Then we regroup and maybe read a story together.  We have snack together too.

Funny, this is how the administration in Clark County want the high school classroom to be run.

Should a high school classroom be run in that manner?  Or do we only allow that in a Title 1 school?  (Or in a weak system?  I taught in the "best high school in Clark County, bar none" yet still was expected to run the class like it was primary school.)

So I return to my initial question.  Would the teacher in Garrison who has excellent students perform well in the Clark County system?  Do the teachers in Clark County get paid enough to handle the onslaught of apathy?