Cover Story

January 2005    

First Rites

NEA Student members are just starting down the path into teaching—with NEA-Retired mentors lending a helping hand. More...

Closing the Distance Divide—Virtually You Want In?

Ruby Davis remembers her first teaching job, at Saratoga Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska, back in 1964. She was 21, from a small town in Arkansas. "I felt I was well-prepared academically," recalls Davis, "but there were so many day-to-day things I still needed to learn."

Fortunately, Ellen Harrell, a first-grade teacher with 15 years of experience to share, was right next door. "She took me under her wing," Davis says. "For the first day of school, she helped me get my classroom ready," decorating the bulletin board and making nametags. "When the parents dropped off their children, everything was in place."

And as long as Davis remained at Saratoga, Harrell stood by her, offering advice and support. "Having someone to turn to made all the difference for me," Davis adds. "I knew I wanted to do the same for someone else."

She's keeping her promise. Retired from classroom teaching after more than 30 years, Davis now works part-time as staff liaison for a mentoring program in the Omaha Public Schools. And in 2003, when the NEA-Retired invited Nebraska and other affiliates to help launch a new Intergenerational Teacher Mentoring Project, Davis and her colleagues were among the first to sign on.

In Nebraska and a growing list of states, the Intergen-erational Teacher Mentoring Project offers retired teachers an ideal opportunity to give back to their profession by supporting tomorrow's teachers. Developed by NEA-Retired in collaboration with Generations United, a Washington, D.C., policy group, the project pairs retired teachers with education students in their junior or senior years in local colleges. Mentors and students work together for three years, taking the young participants through their student teaching and their first year in the field.

Studies show these early years are critical; it's estimated that 40 to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession in their first five years. In a 2004 report, the Education Commission of the States concluded that this "revolving door" in and out of the profession is largely responsible for chronic teacher shortages and staffing problems in schools.

Mentoring can't do much about low pay or out-of-field teaching assignments, but it can ease the way for newcomers. As new teachers become more confident of their skills, their mentors also can make them feel valued and supported—foreclosing one of the key reasons that many give for leaving the profession.

The Intergenerational Teacher Mentoring Project offers some additional benefits, says NEA-Retired President Jim Sproul. Being outside the school system, retired mentors taking part in the project do not evaluate the students. This means that the young person can feel safe bouncing questions and problems off a mentor without worrying that it's going to get back to a professor or principal. Working together for three years gives mentor and protégé time to form a trusting, personal relationship that will grow along with the new teacher's career, he adds.

Moreover, retired teachers have decades of practical experience to share and insights about NEA and the importance of a strong union that newbies need to hear. "Young people sometimes take things for granted, like sick leave and tenure," says Sproul. "They don't realize that our members fought hard for these things. That's something they should know."

Since 2003, NEA-Retired has offered grants of up to $5,000 for state teams to develop programs under the Intergenerational Teacher Mentoring Project. Teams from a handful of states have received training from Gener-ations United and Temple University's Center for Inter-generational Learning at NEA-Retired regional meetings.

Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, says each program must have a champion, "someone who passionately believes in the intergenerational approach and can rally others."
Nebraska is lucky enough to have three champions, still active in the program, who attended the first training at a 2003 NEA-Retired regional meeting in Reno, Nevada: Davis; Joe Higgins, the secretary of the Nebraska State Education Association-Retired (NSEA-Retired); and JoLynn Funk-Julius, who was then president of the Student Education Association of Nebraska (SEAN). Back home, the team shared their enthusiasm with Tom Black, president of NSEA-Retired and Maureen Nickels, NSEA UniServ director and staff consultant for NSEA-Retired.

"We recognized it immediately as one of the best ideas NEA-Retired ever came up with," recalls Black. The Nebraska team decided to focus their efforts on the Omaha-Fremont area and three local colleges, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, the College of St. Mary, and Midland Lutheran College.

From the start, the Nebraska group clicked, says Nickels. "Our team has worked dynamically together. We have students who are 20 or 21 years old working beside retireds who are 60-plus. But when you see us together, there's no age gap. We are one."

In the intergenerational spirit, retirees and students joined forces to speak to college classes and meetings of retired teachers, touting the benefits of the program. "It's amazing how the students, in particular, bought into this," says Higgins. "We thought it might be tough to convince them, but they were quick to see the value of having someone who would listen to them and say, ‘Well, here's how I might have handled this.'"

On the other hand, some retirees initially worried that mentoring might take too much of their time. That concern proved to be unfounded. "The time commitment is really just as much as you want to put into it," says Janel Wilbern, whose post-retirement schedule includes working as an adjunct professor of mathematics at a community college and as a certified trainer for the Kansas University's Learning Strategies Curriculum. "Based on my own experience, I have encouraged other retired teachers from our district to get involved."

Last February, the Nebraska team brought 10 pairs of mentors and protégés together for a kick-off celebration at a popular Omaha restaurant. The mentors and their protégés were matched at random, but they bonded quickly.

One of the pairs, ex-math teacher Duane Humphrey and Erin Reed (then a senior studying elementary education at the University of Nebraska-Omaha), hit it off right away. "She's an outstanding person and we both had an interest in education, so that was a natural bond," says Humphrey. "She's the type of person who could probably teach anyone a few things!" For her part, Reed, a former president of the student program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, says she appreciated that Humphrey provided "lots of encouragement" as she finished her student teaching assignment and began her job search.

JoLynn Funk-Julius, matched with Nebraska retiree Janel Wilbern, also benefited from some job search coaching. "The market was really tight," Funk-Julius says. "I would have been discouraged, but Janel suggested I consider substitute teaching. She said it was a way to gain experience and network while I see what kind of place I really like."

Now settled into a long-term substitute post, Funk-Julius feels confident she can ask Wilbern for advice on just about any topic. "A few years from now, when I have children, I can see myself going back to her and asking, ‘Now, tell me how you juggled motherhood and a career,'" she laughs.

For Midland Lutheran student John Owens and his NSEA-Retired mentor, Tom Hall, the connection came initially from golf. "John is a member of the golf team at the college and I like to play the game a lot, so that gave us something to talk about," says Hall. From trading stories about golf, it was easy to make the transition to student teaching, career planning, and other topics, adds Owens. "Nobody else in my family is a teacher, so it's nice to talk to someone who's been in the profession. Tom has a lot of good and valuable information that he's passing down to me."

Most mentors and their protégés keep up with one another by phone or e-mail. Nebraska's team uses part of its NEA-Retired grant to pick up the tab for travel expenses and an occasional meal so pairs can chat face to face. The team also brought the group together for a reunion/celebration of the first year's efforts last October. Another gathering, to launch the second set of pairings, is scheduled next month.
News of the Omaha team's success has spread statewide, and other cities are clamoring for programs of their own. For its second year, Nebraska plans to start a program in Lincoln, pairing mentors with students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Black says. A year later, an additional team will pair mentors with University of Nebraska students in Kearney and Hastings.

Nationally, the Intergenerational Teacher Mentoring Project also is growing. Teams from additional state affiliates will be trained at regional meetings this spring, and NEA-Retired expects to have trained teams in every state by 2007.

As Nebraska and other states refine their programs, it's clear that mentors see themselves as winners, too. "We love teaching and we want others to love it as much as we have," says Wilbern. "There is no other profession where you can touch the lives of so many people and make such a powerful impact on the future of our nation. The profession has been good to me, and I'm glad to pass that along."

—Barbara Jacob, author of several books on travel, also has written
for USA Today, The Washington Post, and Modern Maturity.

Closing the Distance Divide—Virtually

You could call it "mentoring on demand."

The Ohio Education Association's (OEA) Student and Retired groups have collaborated on an innovative Web-based program that takes traditional interactions with mentors—phone calls, e-mails or face-to-face meetings—a (virtual) giant step into the future.

Called "Cybermentoring," the program links Ohio Student Education Association (OSEA) members with a searchable database of mentors from the Ohio Education Association-Retired, who have volunteered to share their experience in virtually every grade level and content area.

Like many big states with extensive rural areas, Ohio has grappled with the challenges of distance in bringing mentors and students together. "Our students were talking about getting their own Web site, and things just clicked," says Nancy Wonson, a retired teacher who helped get the program up and running. "We realized we could use the Internet to link students with retired teachers, and distance would be no object."

To use the site, students log on with their member numbers and search the database using criteria that range from general to highly detailed.

"If you wanted to learn more about teaching physical education in the third grade, say, chances are you could find a match," says Joanne Gay, Region IV director of OEA and the state organizer of the student program. Students contact the mentors via e-mail from the secure site.

All correspondence flows through OEA's server, says Wonson. "If students and mentors go on to develop a camaraderie, they can share their personal e-mail addresses on their own."

Now being piloted in OEA's Northeastern Region, the Cybermentoring program eventually will connect all 1,000 members of OSEA with OEA-Retired members anywhere in the state—or the world.

—B.J.

You Want In?

If you're a retired teacher With EXPERIENCE AND wisdom to share, chances are there's a teacher-to-be who could benefit from it.

The following states have programs up and running and would love to hear from Retired members interested in mentoring:

Kentucky
Contact: Kathy Jo Pullen
877-893-3205
kj444@aol.com

Illinois
Contact: Donna Mannering
217-544-3081, ext. 261
dmannering@nea.org

Nebraska
Contact: Maureen Nickels
402-475-7611
mnickels@nea.org

Virginia
Contact: Ruthann Kellum
757-723-2076
ruthann501@aol.com

NEA-Retired has provided training and grants to other states as well. Check with your Retired program to find out how you can get involved in your state.

Go to:
www.nea.org/retired/about/statebystate.html for help getting in touch with your state's Retired program.

Italian Lessons

In this Issue: First Rites A Message from the President Member Profiles People Ask the Expert First Person Travel Past Issues

Forget about those humdrum tourist-y travel excursions. Why not consider seeing another side of the world as a volunteer?

Michigan member Gordon Barden didn't want to play the typical tourist on his trip to Europe this year.

So when the former business teacher learned of an opportunity to teach English at a school in Southern Italy, he jumped at the chance. Soon, Barden found himself jetting to the ancient walled city of Ostuni as part of a program run by Global Volunteers, a non-profit that offers short-term service opportunities in 19 countries. Having been to Italy before, Barden says, "I usually revisit places and try to find a newer approach to learning about the country and its people. The Global Volunteers program seemed to fit the bill for this trip."

Arriving in the picturesque city of Ostuni, Barden was housed with 10 other volunteers in a four-star hotel that overlooked olive groves. The volunteer group, which spanned a 37-year age range and a variety of professional backgrounds, provided a support network for each other throughout the two-week program.

After a day of orientation, Barden jumped right into his volunteer assignment assisting an Italian teacher with her middle school English class, as well as helping some students prepare for an oral exam in English. His main task was to help the children with conversational English, conducting a reading in English and then leading a question-and-answer period.

Barden, who taught business in the public schools of Michigan, observed cultural differences between Italian schools and those in the United States. The pace of the Italian school was less frenetic, in part because of the structure of the school day. Students attend school for part of the day on Saturday, so classes on weekdays ended by 1 or 2 in the afternoon, Barden says. Teachers had time for coffee breaks. One teacher explained to Barden, "Time is an opinion, not a fact." Barden also was surprised to find that Italian students stood when their teacher walked into the room and would sit down only when told to do so—not something he had encountered in his Michigan classroom.

The weekends provided sightseeing opportunities in Southern Italy for the volunteers. Although Barden was concerned about whether he would be welcomed, he says he and other Americans were well-received. Global Volunteers places participants in programs that have been requested by the communities, Barden points out.

Barden, who is considering volunteering abroad again in the future, says the experience should appeal to those who don't want the typical tourist experience. Ostuni was beautiful, but off the beaten path. He was able to socialize with the Italian teachers, as well as with the students and their families, sometimes being invited to dinner at the families' homes. Barden emphasizes the importance of being open-minded and willing to embrace a new culture that can be different from your own. "The Global Volunteer program was well-run and made an important contribution to the school and community of Ostuni," he says.

Not to mention…the food was great!

—Sarah Rabovsky

For More

To find out more about Global Volunteers, which offers programs in China, Australia, Ecuador, and 16 other countries, visit www.globalvolunteers.org
Tel: 800-487-1074.

More information about short-term volunteer programs is available from groups such as:

Cross-Cultural Solutions
www.crossculturalsolutions.org
Tel: 800-380-4777.

Elderhostel, Inc.
www.elderhostel.org
Tel: 877-426-8056.

Helping to Groom Tomorrow's Teachers

NEA Retired President, Jim Sproul

Many teachers benefit from the guidance of someone like Marie. But not all. Many young teachers leave the profession because they don't feel respected or appreciated. Or they may lack the skills for supervising a classroom that a veteran teacher takes for granted.

That's why NEA-Retired launched the Intergene-rational Mentoring project several years ago. The program matches up Retired members with young people studying to be teachers. Participating Retired members come away with the satisfaction of continuing to support the profession they love. And our Student members gain a coach, and a friend, to help them figure out the world of schools and guide them through the rough spots. If you have not signed up to take part in this project in your state, I encourage you to find out how you can help. See this month's Cover Story for more details.

NEA-Retired also is helping groom new teachers through the Jack Kinnaman Scholarship, which goes to a deserving member of the NEA Student Program. In the two years we've offered these scholarships, three outstanding young people committed to joining our profession have gotten a helping hand. We need your contributions to sustain the program. Please send donations to: NEA-Retired Jack Kinnaman Scholarship Fund, c/o NEA-Retired, 1201 16th St., N.W., Room 410, Washington, DC 20036. For information on scholarship qualifications, go to: www.nea.org/retired/programs/awards-kinnaman.html. The deadline for applications for this year's scholarships is April 15, 2005.

Member Profiles

January 2005    

Ollie Underwood

Background

I've taught high school government and history for 39 years in Town Creek, Alabama. I've been a local Association president, a vice president of the Alabama Education Association, and a member of the NEA Human and Civil Rights Committee.

How do you plan to spend your retirement?

Well, some things are going to be a little bit different. I'm going to spend more time fishing, and I want to take on a greater role in my church. But some things won't change much. I've been active in NEA so long that it would feel unnatural to stop, so I'm going to work with the Alabama Education Association-Retired. There's plenty to do. I like working in human and civil rights, and we need people in that area, so that's where I plan to focus my energy.

Sandra Schaller

Background

I was a teacher assistant in Greensboro, North Carolina, for 26 years. I served as a local Association president, sat on the state education support professional board, and was state treasurer for ESPs.

How has retirement been so far?

Wonderful. My husband and I moved to a new home northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, and it's the nicest neighborhood I've ever seen. During the winter snows, we'd wake up to find our driveways shoveled clear by neighbors. This is a community in the truest sense. We're refurbishing a lot of appliances in the house, and spending much more time with our grandchildren, who are nearby. Next, I want to get active in Association recruitment. When I worked as an ESP, we worked to gain full representation and voting rights in the Association, and it made a big difference. Now I'd like to help ESPs and teachers alike to improve their jobs by getting them active in their Associations.

Judy Day

Background

I taught at the elementary school level for 37 years in Arkansas City, Kansas, and specialized in Reading Recovery. In my local affiliate, I served as membership chair, vice president, and president. I've also been a state and national Association delegate and am currently vice president of Kansas NEA-Retired.

How do you balance leisure with Retired Association activities?

Actually, the Association is part of my leisure! My duties and training have allowed me to travel widely. But I have other leisure activities as well. First, I spend more time with my seven grandchildren. Also, I've joined the Arkansas City Music Club Chorus. I love it. But it's important for me to stay active in the Association. I'm proud that people have told me I negotiated some of the best school contracts in Kansas. I believe it's my duty to stay on top of the issues and assist Active members so that school employees will continue to have strong representation.

First Person

January 2005

Universal Health Insurance:
A Prescription for Solving the Drug Mess

As a former district coordinator for AARP, I met many struggling seniors trying to subsist on Social Security payments of only $1,000 or so a month while getting socked with prescription drug bills of $300 or $400. The story's become all-too-common, as prices for prescription drugs spiral ever upward and leave seniors on fixed incomes choosing between paying for the drugs or paying their bills for rent or food.

As everyone knows by now, President Bush and the Congress weighed the issue and came up with…the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act. AARP lent its support to this flawed bill, leading me and thousands of other members to resign in protest.

The only tangible piece of the Act to emerge so far is the so-called "Medicare discount cards." Even the most favorable estimates provided by the White House figure that using the card will save seniors 15 to 25 percent off full-priced medicines. That's not much relief. In fact, Consumers Union estimates that, with average drug prices rising 15 percent annually, most seniors would pay more in 2007 even with the benefit of the new Medicare drug coverage than they do now without it.

And consider the long-term damage the Act will unleash. Nearly 3 million retirees are expected to eventually lose their employer-paid drug coverage. Private health insurers that offer an alternative to Medicare will not only be able to pick and choose their clients, they'll get 30 percent more per client than the government spends on the average Medicare recipient. Worse yet, the bill bans the federal government from setting price caps or negotiating with drug suppliers for discounts.

We need more than band-aid solutions to the prescription drug dilemma. Our health care system is broken beyond repair and in need of a total reorganization. What we need is a national insurance health plan that will provide comprehensive health benefits to every American.

Impossible, you say? Look at what's cooking here in California. The "Healthcare for All Californians Act" (S.B. 921), authored by state Senator Sheila Kuehl, would provide comprehensive health benefits to every Californian at no new cost to California's general fund. It has been passed by the State Assembly Health Committee and the state Senate and is now in the Assembly to be considered in 2005.

S.B. 921 would create a single, streamlined reimbursement system for medical care in California that analysts say will save the state about $14 billion in administrative healthcare costs alone. These and other savings will make it possible to insure every resident of California with a comprehensive health plan that would include medical, dental, vision, mental health and prescription drug coverage.

S.B. 921 would fold in the Medicare, Medicaid, and other government money along with a payroll tax on both the employee and the employer into one public fund. By consolidating these funds, we rid ourselves from the current wasteful bureaucracies caused by the 6,000 insurance plans and 69 government programs in California. We would pay taxes in lieu of premiums, but they would be less than current insurance company premiums.

The biggest opposition of a single payer plan will be the insurance industry, which is expected to mount a billion-dollar campaign to defeat universal health care. That's why we're going to agitate with the press and lawmakers to make sure S.B. 921 becomes law. We want to pave the way, so that other states will see the benefit of joining a system that works for everyone.

—Elizabeth Basile is a retired English teacher living in Santa Rosa, California.

Getting the Credit You've Earned

Credit makes it easier to buy that new car—or just a few items at the department store. But seniors may have a tougher time getting credit to make purchases or get loans. That's why you need to know your rights.

Q: Why is credit important?

Credit is an important money management tool for both young and older consumers. But if you're an older consumer who has paid with cash all your life, or if you're a widow or widower whose spouse did not include you on credit accounts, you may find it difficult to get a loan or open a credit card account. The credit-granting institution would have no record of your credit-worthiness to go by. Or, if your income decreased after you stopped working, you may find it harder to get a loan because you have "insufficient income."

Q: Can I be denied credit because of my age?

No, under the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act, it's against the law for a creditor to deny you credit or terminate existing credit simply because of your age.

Q: What factors do creditors consider in approving a loan or the issuance of a credit card?

A major factor is your current income, which may include money from part-time jobs, Social Security, or pensions, as well as assets such as your home, savings accounts, and stocks and bonds. If you want credit, be sure to let the creditor know of assets that show your financial health.

A creditor usually also checks your credit history with one or more credit bureaus (see "Quick Tips"). That's one of the many reasons it makes sense to check your credit record regularly. Credit reports can contain errors, and you need to get these corrected as soon as possible.

Q: How could the death of a spouse affect credit?

Under the ECOA, a creditor cannot automatically close or change the terms of a joint account solely because of the death of your spouse. But a creditor can ask you to update your application or reapply. This can happen if the account was originally based primarily on your spouse's income and the creditor believes your income alone cannot support the credit line.

After you submit a re-application, the creditor has 30 days to render a decision and inform you in writing. During that time, you can continue to use your account with no new restrictions. And if your application is rejected, you must be given specific reasons or told of your right to get this information.

These protections apply when you retire, reach age 62 or older, or change your name or marital status.

Q: Whom can I contact for additional help?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides resources on a variety of issues relating to credit, such as how to obtain credit and how to avoid identity theft. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

—Doug Terwilliger, NEA Member Benefits

Quick Tips

Know the Score

Check with the major credit bureaus to learn your credit history—and make sure there are no errors affecting your credit rating. They are:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
www.experian.com

Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

Know Your Rights

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), creditors may not deny you credit or terminate existing credit cards you have because of your age. The Federal Trade Commission offers information on ECOA and can help you file a complaint if you believe you’ve been unlawfully denied credit because of your age. You can reach the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov.