This semester Gilroy High said farewell to a teacher so colorful
and so exemplary that
”
gray
”
is entirely the wrong word to describe him. Mr. Peter Gray
worked at GHS for 15 years and left to take an administrative
position at another school. Due to a strange quirk of fate and
scheduling, Mr. Gray was my English teacher for three out of my
four high school years. I feel that I am well qualified to state
that he is one of the best teachers I have had at GHS.
This semester Gilroy High said farewell to a teacher so colorful and so exemplary that “gray” is entirely the wrong word to describe him. Mr. Peter Gray worked at GHS for 15 years and left to take an administrative position at another school. Due to a strange quirk of fate and scheduling, Mr. Gray was my English teacher for three out of my four high school years. I feel that I am well qualified to state that he is one of the best teachers I have had at GHS. From force of habit or simply because I knew that I was always welcome, I continued to stop by his classroom every now and then to talk. He has all the qualities of a great teacher and I like to think he helped mold the writing of yours truly. He will be sorely missed on campus, though he is deserving of a promotion to administration. I wish him the best of luck with his new job.
That being said, it is difficult to lose such a teacher, but it is even more difficult to lose him in the middle of the year. Gray’s Advanced Placement junior English sections are undergoing a teacher transition in the middle of the year with less than a semester to go before the big test in May. The AP exam is one of those high-stake tests that mean a lot to students and can make or break a high school’s reputation. Though Mr. Gray has been replaced by a highly regarded and qualified teacher, Mr. Mark Rose, a replacement now has to be found for Mr. Rose’s classes.
This is not the first time that such a situation has occurred at GHS and at schools throughout the state and probably the nation. About four years ago AP biology teacher Dale Morejon, was offered a promotion in the middle of the year. Like Gray, Morejon was one of the best teachers GHS had ever seen. He was instrumental in bringing the AP program to the high school. Although I am too young to have had him as a teacher, I know others that did, including some of my brothers. While Morejon was teaching, the pass-rate on the AP biology test was very high. When he left at semester, there was no qualified teacher to take his place, and the students suffered. Hardly anyone passed the test that year. Fortunately for the AP junior English classes, Rose is well qualified, but there has still been disruption to routine and the fate of the classes Rose left behind to be taught by someone new is a big unknown.
This is in no way a criticism of Gray and Morejon, but rather a criticism of the system. The system is supposed to work in the best interest of the students. Clearly this is not the case if teachers are allowed to leave before their contracts expire.
This is an issue that has had little attention, but I feel needs to be brought to light. If these jobs weren’t available in the middle of the year, then teachers like Gray would not be forced to take them in the middle of the year. If he had waited until the end of the school year, someone else probably would have filled his new job.
We cannot blame individuals for making choices that are best for themselves and their families. We can, however, blame a system that appears to run by semesters when GHS itself offers no semester-long classes.
Year-long contracts should be enforced, not merely on the level of English teachers but also on the level of administration so that teachers like Gray can make the job transition after the school year is over.
It hurts the students to have a year that is so interrupted. One wouldn’t expect an actor to leave midway through a production, and sports fans know the pain all too well of having a player traded in the middle of the season. I might sound idealistic, but there is no reason why the entire system from, top to bottom, can’t wait until the end of the year to make its contracts. In addition, it is unfortunate that we have a system where experienced teachers get paid less then beginning administrators.
I encourage people to take this issue seriously. Students are the product of the education system, and if it’s not working for their best interests, then what’s the point?
