Jim Rayphand
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly that of the writer and do not explicitly or necessarily reflect, nor represent the policies and position of Northern Marianas College.
BY some random stroke of dumb luck, I find myself gainfully employed in the trenches (or more aptly, the inner workings and, I dare say, frontline) of our Northern Marianas College. To a certain degree (pun intended), with less than three months in, I still find it unnerving to be the weak link in the chain of institutional and other collateral knowledge required to be the best that I can be in my job. There is however another part of me that enjoys the challenge of learning new tricks, and I find it exhilarating, like a dog chasing his tail — the tail being something that can only grow from within. I suspect most educators (self-proclaimed in my case) and life-long learners would attest that there is a kind of high or some level of euphoria that comes from exposure to new information and immersion into new environments particularly in the company of unfamiliar people working in tandem toward a common goal. I am getting continued education in what it takes for students to get an education at NMC and for that I am grateful.
To be clear (even though I work in “education”), my current role is a far cry from still being an educator. For lack of a better way to put it, those of us in enrollment services are here in support of the Educators — one friend here calls them classroom heroes — better known as Teachers, Instructors or Professors here at the college. My immediate co-workers and I make it a point to remind ourselves that what matters most… what’s most important in the life of the college is what happens in the classrooms and in other direct learning spaces for students in and around the campus. Our singular focus needs to be on facilitating (in the most conducive manner possible) teaching and learning with little to no distractions from the administrative side of the house. That is not as easy as it sounds and, believe it or not, that message can very easily be forgotten amid the intensity, if not unpredictability, of human services. Try as we may, we are all human, each with our own shortcomings — mistakes get made, tempers sometimes flare and… well… there will always be room for improvement. The flip side of course is that we get things done right all the time, we find joy in everything we do, and we provide unconditional support for each other in our respective moments of weakness.
At the risk of triggering false alarms, I will say that there is a deep divide between the bureaucracy of running a school (or school systems) and the core purpose for why we have school at all. Mind you, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing; in fact, some might argue that we should draw a dividing line to insulate (to the extent possible) the sanctity of our classrooms from the logistical, operational chaos of keeping the school-house doors open. Conversely, I say it is essential that those of us in administration be keenly aware of the pedagogical chaos that can ensue from our classrooms, if not properly guarded. Importantly, as an institution, we need symbiotic connections on all fronts to be at our best — one side cannot function (at least not very well) without the other. We rise and we fall together.
Let’s take the unfolding drama in and around the CNMI’s Public School System as food for thought. I don’t envy the call of duty for those in positions of authority to make hard decisions, and I understand the need for the gloom and doom messaging being pushed into the community. But… for all the love of our children spin — how much we care about our children’s education and how important education is for society — all I hear is that money talks or education walks. That the only option is to cut out swaths of targeted classes of personnel and reduce instruction time… Heaven forbid we consider pay-cuts without a reduction of contact hours for our students. I haven’t heard a single voice from our administration and certainly not the “silent majority” of teachers volunteering a 10, 15 or even 25% pay-cut (at least commensurate with availability of local government revenue) to ensure an uninterrupted, standard level of formal education for our kids.
Where are the educators in education for the love of education?
Mark Twain famously said that he, “Never let (his) schooling interfere with (his) education” and/or that he, “Was educated once (and) it took (him) years to get over it.” Maybe that’s it: Too many of us come from the school of what’s-in-it-for-me and unless we find our way back into the school of hard-knocks, we may never get over it.
