Teaching After Science Careers

Sixty-year-old Donald G. Simpson, a retired air force lieutenant colonel, says he has a lot to offer the students in his science classes at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, N.C. “I know what to expect from the students because I’ve raised my own family. I think those school teachers who are kids themselves can’t understand their students as well as I can.” Fifty-seven-year-old Daniel Trollinger, a chemist at General Electric in Columbia, Md., is in the process of getting his teaching certification from Notre Dame University in Baltimore. He says he looks forward to teaching after he retires because he’ll have the opportunity to remain active in his field. And because his house is already paid for and his children have finished their schooling, he says he can manage with the salary cut. Trollinger and Simpson are among many retired or soon-to-be-retired scientists, engineers and technically trained military personnel who bring their experience and expertise into the nation’s school systems after completing specialized teacher education programs that are springing up throughout the country. More than 50 percent of the math and science teachers in the classroom are not skilled in their subjects, but rather in social studies or home economics, according to Sandra Feldman, president, United Federation of Teachers. “We endorse the kinds of programs that will bring more qualified people into the profession,” she adds. The National Executive Service Corps (NESO), a volunteer organization of retired executives, with a $400,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has acted as an “education broker” by bringing retired professionals from business and the military together with high school educators. The first of five pilot programs began this winter. Eleven army officers from Fort Bragg, N.C., are attending classes at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the School of Education, Fayettevile, while still enlisted. By the time they retire next fall, they will have completed the program and are expected to be placed in the school system. Another NESC pilot program will start this month, involving General Electric, Valley Forge, Pa. and Drexel University. Similar programs will begin later this year with the Navy in San Diego, Ca., and RCA in Cherry Hill, N.J. A program will also be established in Fort Worth, Tx. NESC also received a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Secondary Education, administered by the United States Department of Education, to establish programs in New York City and Hartford, Ct., for those individuals who have already retired and want to enter the teaching profession. According to New York City’s former School Chancellor Nathan Quinones, “The kinds of people that the NESC program will help to recruit will be able to indicate to our students what it’s like to work in their field.” While there are those who worry whether these second career teachers may be too rigid, overly bureaucratic or dictatorial as a result of their many years in industry and the military, Quinones believes their experiences will benefit their pupils. “These people will be highly organized and capable of articulating clear expectations for their students.” Like the NESC program, the Retiree Outreach Project for Mathematics and Science Teachers, administered through a $170,000 grant from the Maryland State Department of Education in cooperation with Prince Georges Public Schools, is designed to meet the state’s shortage of science and math teachers. However, the project differs because it will target those individuals who are nearing retirement from all areas of the state. As part of the project, eight colleges and universities in the state including the University of Maryland, College Park, Coppin College Bowie State College, Loyola College and Johns Hopkins University have modified their existing teaching programs to accommodate the new breed of teachers who are qualifled in the subject matter but lack education credits. Enrollment began this winter. By next January more than a dozen graduates from the program are expected to enter the state’s teaching system. Another program to recruit qualified math and science teachers under way at San Diego State University. Under a $150,000 grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education, the university plans to tailor fast-track programs for teacher certification of Navy officers who are about to retire or who have just retired. According to Dr. Norma Dessel, professor of natural science at the University, “We’re trying to break the back of the monolith structure. Normal accreditation programs take a minimum of two years with no salary. We can’t dis courage these highly qualified people.” San Diego State expects to graduate 30 people each year for three years. That programs such as these will successfully recycle scientists into science teachers is almost a "sure thing,” according to W Robert Houston, associate dean of academic affairs, University of Houston. Last year, the Chevron Corporation, in cooperation with three unversities, including the University of Houston, began retraining all teachers a large number of scientists and engineers in the company who were facing layoffs. Sixteen students, including 56-year-old former chemical engineer Ben Schrader, graduated last fall. During this academic year, teaching chemistry at a local high school has been a wonderful experience, said Schrader. “I think I had a running start because my students already respected me for the work I’ve done and my age.” Cheryl Platzman Weinstock is a freelance science writer based in Bellmore, NY

Teaching After Science Careers

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