47 years in teaching and not ready to retire

When a student tells me they can’t do something, it’s too hard. Here is my response:

I would never assign something to you that I didn’t believe you could do. If you are having trouble, it is my job to find a better way to help you understand.

As another year winds down, it's time for reflection.
l look back at all the students I interacted with this year and wonder what impact I have had on them if any.

For some students it is obvious that they have found confidence in themselves and are more willing to take risks than when I first met them. For others, I ask did I make any connections with them and did they learn anything at all.

For most of my students, I believe that we have made real connections. I love the fact that my advisory group is very comfortable talking about almost anything with me. We have had very honest and open discussion that I hope have open their minds to other possibilities and that they realize that their past does not have to dictate their future.

I do believe my system of working with students individually and at their own pace has been more successful than I expected. My passing rate for math is higher than any other subject here at our high school. Since we are an at risk school and math is the Achilles' heel of most of your students, I take special pride in this fact.

I think I have finally found a bookkeeping system that works for me and allows me to keep records straight when a student has not completed the class within the required time frame and may be back with me the next session or not till later in the year.

Students are often amazed that when they enter my class for the first time, they have a binder with their name on it and the course outline of what they need to do to pass the course. This is also true for a student who has not been with me for a grading period and they find a binder with their previous work ready for them to pick up right where they left off.

Testing, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Well maybe not absolutely nothing.

Several years ago I was in charge of administering the NEAP test at our school. One of our students tried to organize a protest and was encouraging other students either not to take the test or just give any answer without reading the questions. When I asked her why, her response was telling. “Why do I need to take another test to show how dumb I am?”

I realize bureaucrats need to try to measure whether schools are performing up to expectations, but the way tests are usually used is to compare one set of students to a different set (ie. last year's class).

Even though teachers could use detailed analysis of what concepts students understood and where they need more instruction, forced pacing and structured curriculum doesn’t allow for much remediation.

What is more helpful and what I try to do is track student growth over time. When I tell a student that they have made 2,3 or even 4 years growth in one year, it is amazing how different that can be rather than just telling them that they are still behind grade level.

Teacher friends. Please check out this free opportunity!

A quick note to share this upcoming PD opportunity. We conduct these free workshops twice a year with TGR Foundation and this one promises to be excellent. Please share these details with your network and register to attend - you'll get a copy of the recording and free resources if you can't make it in person. Details follow:

What: Math in Motion, a one hour virtual workshop
When: Wednesday, May 13th, 4PM PST
Who: All STEM educators

Please join us for this free virtual workshop co-sponsored by databot and TGR Foundation!

In this session, we will explore cross-disciplinary strategies for building data literacy in K–12 students, along with a real-world applied math demonstration from DoW STEM Ambassador Melissa Sterling.
You will walk away with practical tools and techniques you can use immediately across math, science, and STEM programs.
If you are unable to attend live, register anyway and a recording will be shared afterward.
We hope to see you there!
https://tgrfoundation.tfaforms.net/f/Winter_Spring_2026_Virtual_Workshops

Robert Grover

2026 Educator Workshops Registration Form

Detailed lesson plans? Scripted instruction? It doesn’t work for me. I have students in one math class who can’t add without using their fingers or grabbing a calculator. Others who are having trouble remembering which is the x coordinate in (6,-5) or even identifying the y axis to graph y =2x-4. And next to them is the student who is on grade level and over there is a student at the 90th percentile. For each student I need to know where their entry point is and how far I can challenge them without frustrating them. How much time would it take to write a detailed lesson plan that shows my thought process in delivering a lesson to that class and to what purpose?

I know my subject. I have clear objectives in mind for each student and how I plan to teach it can change the moment I see a new stumbling block or fresh insight into the individual student's thought process. I am fortunate that the administration in my school understands this and lets me do my job to the best of my ability.

Consider this:
Median annual wages for teachers in the U.S. are approximately $63,000

Median annual salary of $62,608 in the U.S. according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Projected 2024 median salaries for occupations requiring a bachelor's degree averaged $92,260, according to BLS.

Perhaps this is why we have a teacher shortage?

Since the Department of Education is limiting funds based on the cost of education vs the earning power, will that mean teachers will not be able to finance to cost of a BA, especially at private colleges, since the starting salary is so low in many districts.

Reading, cooking and eating, drinking, staying in one’s pajamas until late in the morning, stretching oneself to find ways in which to pass the days is the way we were meant to spend our vacation weeks, not decades of our lives.

It explains why I am still not ready to retire!