Master teachers deserve rewards
I chose to go back to college and earn my master’s degree. However, if I had to do it again, I’m not sure that I would.
In my early years of teaching, it was easy for me to identify the champion teachers within my building. I gravitated toward them. I often observed their classrooms and stole great ideas to use in my own. I learned strategies for differentiating my instruction, not from my college courses, but from these master teachers.
These are the same teachers who often serve on school, district and state committees. Imagine my surprise when I learned many of these teachers, whom I considered mentors, were not paid at the highest level available in New Mexico. Although they demonstrated their high level of effectiveness throughout their many years as educators, they did not have a master’s degree; therefore, they are required to remain a Level 2 teacher.
I chose to go back to college and earn my master’s degree. However, if I had to do it again, I’m not sure that I would.
I learned lots from some courses and just completed assignments for others. My main source of learning always has come from practicing the work itself.
In the three years it took me to earn my degree, as a family we had to make some sacrifices. We had to plan ahead financially, because aside from the tuition costs were the hundreds of dollars spent on books. I completed these courses with three children at home and sometimes struggled with the balance of doing everything at the high standards I set for myself.
It was challenging to make sure I was still being a great mom, a great teacher and now a great student. Most of my homework was completed in my vehicle as I sat outside my son’s practice with the baby napping in the backseat. And when that practice was over, we rushed to get my daughter to her practice, and the homework continued.
As an educator, I made a difference in my students’ lives. I come from a background similar to most poorer students in New Mexico. I helped change their excuses. They left my class more confident in their academic abilities and more knowledgeable about their opportunities in life. My student data reports were always very strong. I developed SATs for my struggling students and worked with the team to better support their learning. I participated in numerous teams and committees, and became known as a “teacher leader,” not only in my school but in my district.
I did all this without a master’s degree and with a master’s degree. The degree did not change the high-quality teacher I was. There are many champion teachers without a master’s degree that need to be acknowledged and compensated for the master teachers they are.
Hope Morales is Teach Plus New Mexico state policy director. She was a teacher on special assignment at Military Heights Elementary School in Roswell and is a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellowship alumna.