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Adding her personal stamp as an artist and as TCTA’s new president
After enjoying a year filled with fun and exciting art experiences with Mrs. Grissett at Goddard Junior High School in Midland, I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. That year, I decided to become an art teacher like Mrs. Grissett, who introduced her art classes to all kinds of stimulating art experiences and helped her students hone their artistic skills. I had discovered my mission in life: teach others to love and create art.
After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School, I enrolled in Texas Tech University and earned a BFA in art education. When I married, my husband was employed by Slaton ISD, so I tried to find a job teaching art in the surrounding area. Everywhere I applied, I was asked what my second teaching field was. An art education degree certified me to teach K-12, but it never occurred to me to get another certification. I worked as an instructional aide for Slaton ISD for one semester before returning to Texas Tech University to work on a Secondary English Certification. The next fall, I interviewed for teaching positions armed with my second teaching field and was hired by Morton ISD. They hired me to teach English and “let” me teach two sections of art. The commute to Morton from my house in Lubbock was 56 miles one way, so after two years on the road I sought a job closer to home. I was employed by Southland ISD for four years before being hired by Slaton ISD to teach English and art. After my first year at Slaton ISD and after six years in the profession, I was finally living the dream and teaching art full-time. I have been teaching for 29 years.
The privileges and pleasures of teaching
I’ve been blessed to teach in a district and community highly supportive of the arts. My students, past and present, have kept me in the profession for all these years. Sharing my passion for art and seeing students carry the appreciation of art with them when they graduate has been rewarding. I have the privilege of working with many of my upper level students for up to four years, which gives me the opportunity to truly get to know them. As a high school teacher for 22 years, I have taught the parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings of many of my current students. Our shared history helps me create an instant rapport with my art students. Recently, I had the pleasure of teaching private painting lessons to Slaton’s mayor.
My favorite part of teaching and the aspect I find most rewarding is helping students access and utilize their creative potential. I love it when my students drag their friends into the art room to show off their current projects. I love hearing students mentor each other with an art vocabulary that would make an art critic proud, and I love seeing the joy on their faces when they accomplish or exceed their artistic goals.
Yet, paperwork and pressures persist
Still, I’m disappointed with the growing prescriptive document-it-to-death mentality that pervades the teaching profession. In the time it takes a teacher to document the special education modifications used or the TEKS that have been taught for the umpteenth time, she could have graded assignments, planned future lessons, or worked with students. Instead of having teachers document what they are going to do and what they have done, why not let teachers concentrate on teaching students? The parents and the public need to trust teachers to do their jobs. Extensive documentation robs the classroom teacher of valuable time, including time spent with students.
Another difficulty facing countless educators is the pass-the-test-or-perish pressure, which leads many young teachers to leave the profession after a few years in the classroom, and numerous classroom veterans to opt to retire in order to escape the crushing weight of the stress involved. The most pressing matter facing public schools today is the burden individual teachers shoulder trying to meet the ever-changing requirements the state and national testing standards impose on an already stressful profession. School districts, individual campuses and classroom teachers’ feet are held to and often scorched by the fire of accountability. The push by some legislators to hold individual teachers responsible for their students’ test scores is an egregious blunder. Too many outside factors contribute to student success or failure for this to begin to be a viable measure of a teacher’s effectiveness. Teaching to the tests has taken a toll on the individual creativity of the classroom teacher and has shortchanged the quality of education for many Texas students.
TCTA – simply the best
I joined TCTA in 1979 because the district I worked for was predominantly a TCTA district. The veteran teachers told me I needed to join a professional organization and that TCTA was the best one. Watching the membership steadily increase over the years has been gratifying, and witnessing the change in how headquarters communicates with our members makes me feel like an old-timer who watched the horse and buggy be replaced by the automobile. I really appreciate being able to access information immediately thanks to the incredible TCTA website, and I value the timely up-to-the-minute e-mail updates. The availability of accurate information is invaluable.
TCTA needs to continue to do all the things it does so well: lobby to improve teacher salaries, benefits and working conditions. TCTA should also help members to hone leadership skills by continuing to teach educators how to become effective educational advocates in their local, state and national governments.
My personal stamp
I have always admired and appreciated the individual leadership styles of the past TCTA presidents, and look forward to the opportunity to add my personal stamp as president of this extraordinary organization. During my 10 years serving on the TCTA Board and Executive Committee – five as a District Director and five as the Legislation Chair – I have learned so much from the staff and fellow board members and want to put the knowledge and skills to good use. As TCTA President, I will use my experience to advocate for educators. I am passionate about the teaching profession and would like the opportunity to continue to work with my peers, the TCTA staff and legislators to improve working conditions and salaries for Texas educators. I will focus on accentuating the positive accomplishments hard-working education professionals achieve in districts across Texas despite the disparate socioeconomic makeup of the individual campuses. I will do my utmost to articulate the needs and concerns of every TCTA member and will advocate for our profession at every opportunity.
On June 1, 2008, I took office as 2008-09 statewide president, and in this role will guide TCTA’s efforts as it works to enhance the teaching profession and provide a full array of services and advocacy to its 50,000 members. It promises to be a challenging year that will conclude about the same time that the 81st session of the Texas Legislature adjourns. As the former statewide Legislation Chair, I feel well-versed on the issues and hope to be able to offer legislators the perspective only a classroom teacher can share. I also will take an active role in representing the Association at many key discussions and meetings, including the Teacher Retirement System, State Board of Education and State Board for Educator Certification. I am especially looking forward to traveling all over the state visiting local CTAs, colleges and universities and am excited about seeing the communities and schools where everyone works. Each school district and TCTA local affiliate has unique views and practices that I am eager to observe and share with others. We are lucky to have so many talented, innovative, and caring members who work miracles daily across the state.
What teachers can do
If Texas teachers are going to garner the respect, pay and benefits they deserve, they need to vote. Teachers need to vote education-friendly officials into office, whether it is to serve on the local school board, the Texas Legislature or the U.S. Congress. The approximately 320,000 teachers in Texas have the potential to be a force to be reckoned with, an esteemed political group respected by elected officials. In the same vein, elected officials and state boards need to listen to the experts – the classroom teachers – when it comes to issues concerning curriculum, testing, class size and other educational concerns. Teachers can submit input electronically when scheduled meetings conflict with their teaching day. What better resource exists than those who deal with the issues and concerns daily? I am mystified when exploratory committees and governmental agencies hire people, often out of state, to research issues when they could consult Texas teachers for little or no cost. Teachers need to make political advocacy a priority in their busy schedules so that those in office will be disposed to make more sound educational choices. Until elected officials get the message that they need to vote for positive education reforms or teachers will elect someone else, I fear teachers and educational concerns will continue to receive marginal attention.
One of the issues TCTA should continue to focus on is restoration of the reduced TRS benefits for many of its members. The Legislature did teachers a grave injustice by changing the benefit rules midstream for the majority of its beneficiaries. TCTA will continue to work with legislators to amend current legislation that includes more members under the protective umbrella of the grandfather clause.
On a personal note
I was born and raised in Midland. My father, Dr. Bill Lively, was a dentist and my mother, Billie Jean Lively, an R.N. who opted to stay home and raise the children. She once explained to me that women in her generation had only two choices of careers: nurse or teacher. Her older sister, Marie Woody, was the teacher and taught a variety of subjects in grades 1-8 for 24 years. I am the second oldest of four children, with an older sister and two younger brothers. All of us graduated from Texas Tech University, three with art degrees and one with a medical degree.
My husband, Cary, and I have been married 29 years this June. We have three children: Courtney, Braden and Meredith. Courtney is one course away from earning a degree from the University of North Texas in art history with a French minor. Braden is pursuing a degree in petroleum engineering and is currently attending South Plains Community College. Meredith plans to enroll in a cosmetology program at South Plains College this fall.
When I’m not teaching, I enjoy working on personal art projects that involve a variety of media: ceramics, wire, watercolor, acrylics, and found objects. My latest artistic endeavor has been creating jewelry out of dominoes and other mixed media. A group of us enjoy attending the monthly First Friday Art Trail sponsored by the city of Lubbock, where I have participated as a guest artist on several occasions. My husband and I are “regulars” at Barnes and Noble, where we love to drink coffee and tea while we read and visit with friends and family. Recently, I’ve enjoyed spending time with the two newest additions to the family, my granddaughters Sonova and Lily.
Web posted: 06/06/08
