Military District of San Bernardino County: May 2009

[article]

BARSTOW • When Sidney Tharpe exited the military after 20 years, he had to find something else to do.
So Tharpe headed for the classroom.

“I just like working with kids,” said the Apple Valley resident, who was stationed at Fort Irwin from 1996 to 2004, and is now in his third year of teaching elementary special education students.

Tharpe made the transition from the military to the classroom with the help of Troops to Teachers, a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Education, which is holding an informational sessions at Fort Irwin and the Marine Corps Logistics base on Wednesday.

Robert Bartron, military transition recruitment specialist with Troops to Teachers who will be at Wednesday’s session, said that education and the military share some similar qualities.

You will be successful in teaching if “you’re effective in a large bureaucratic association,” said Bartron.

“Not everybody in the military makes a good teacher. Those [who do] are who we’re seeking,” said Bartron.

The program also offers compensation of up to $10,000 for teachers who work in economically disadvantaged districts.

While about 85 percent people who express interest are retirees, Bartron said the program also aims to recruit active duty soldiers three or four years before they leave the military since the process to become a credentialed teacher can a few years.

Jim Ybarra, a teacher at Peary Middle School in Gardena, flew Apache and Black Hawk helicopters for 24 years before becoming a history and English teacher.

While his habit of early mornings and personnel management skills have translated directly to the classroom, Ybarra said he has to be more conventional with aspects like discipline.

“You can’t put everybody in a push-up position,” he said.

The program focuses on helping teachers get jobs in high demand subjects, such as math, science and special education, according to Bartron.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

Troops to Teachers Information Session
Where: Education building at Fort Irwin, and McTureous Hall (Bldg. 218) at the Marine Corps Logistics Base.
When: Wednesday. One hour sessions start at 8 a.m. at Fort Irwin, and 2:30 p.m. at the MCLB.
Questions: Call Fort Irwin’s education office at (760) 380-4218, or the MCLB Education Services Office at (760) 577-6118.
Website: www.caltroops.org

[comments]

cwatch wrote:

4/15/2009 5:23:15 PM

cwatch wrote:

The Educational System Was Designed to Keep Us Uneducated and Docile: http://bbvm.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/the-educational-system-was-designed-to-keep-us-uneducated-and-docile/

4/15/2009 1:59:57 PM

amcr17 wrote:

Wow. WORDPRESS. Free blog for anyone who wants to rant about whatever they want. Brilliant. I'm very impressed. Check mine out...wordpress/imagination of rainbows and aliens.com.

P.S. Who RAISES their kids to be DISOBIDIENT?

4/15/2009 1:21:12 PM

cwatch wrote:

4/15/2009 12:54:41 PM

longtimeago wrote:

cwatch- I live in fear of people like you. I'm sure that your kids are the ones in wal-mart running and yelling and makeing everyone wish they had stayed home. "My kids do NOT obey orders; they act upon their own ethics and instincts." This is a direct quote from you. It speaks volumes about your values.
Also, you're remarks about soldiers being the dirt of the earth was so over the top I can't even respond to it.
Let's just say that I would like it very much if you kept your kids home and out of the public school. Just out of public all together. People like you make the day too hard to get through and we all have enough problems.

4/15/2009 8:43:47 AM

joevh04 wrote:

You should thank a soldier for your exercising of free speech cwatch, however crazy it is

4/14/2009 4:43:41 PM

cwatch wrote:

Man, I'm glad I kept my children out of the "education" system.

It is bad enough that the state tries to take your children, at gunpoint if necessary, and subject them to social and intellectual deprivation and programming during the most sensitive years of their lives, showing them a "reality" of authoritarianism... But to put "soldiers," the dirt of the earth, in charge... That's too much. My kids do NOT obey orders; they act upon their own ethics and instincts.

The "Big 3" which I taught them were:

1. ALWAYS have a questioning mind. NEVER believe. You may know something or you may not. You may suspect something or you may doubt. You may wonder or you may not care. But NEVER believe.

2. Be true to yourself. NEVER take orders or obey. Act from your own personal decisions.

3. ALWAYS treat others as you would want them to treat you.

Now, think about a "soldier," and what the world would be like without him. He prostitutes himself. He disarms his people, then claims to "protect" them - from the wrath of his victims...

4/14/2009 4:39:12 PM

whatdoyousay wrote:

Great my High School Biology teacher was a PHD, a helicopter pilot in the NG and was featured in National Geographic magazine for his Doctoral work. We need good veterans back into our classrooms. Nice article.

4/14/2009 7:19:28 AM