RON DAVIS -- Through My Eyes

On Oct. 7, yours truly will be taking the CBEST. CBEST sounds familiar

doesn’t it? No, it doesn’t deal with cleaning carpets. That was ZZZBest.

It’s the California Basic Educational Skills Test, which is a

prerequisite to teaching in public schools. My wife’s walking around the

house chuckling and mimicking high school students who just received

their class assignments, saying, “Bummer dude -- I got Davis.”

The CBEST is a four-hour exam that deals with the basics -- reading,

writing and arithmetic. For me, the beauty of the test is that if I don’t

pass all three sections, I can retake only those sections I’ve butchered.

You might wonder why an old geezer like me is taking an exam that is a

prerequisite to teaching.

Actually, I’ve been silently and publicly whining about the state of

public education for some time now. I’ve met far too many kids who don’t

have a clue about math. I’ve met kids who think the Pinta, Nina and Santa

Maria is a Mexican rock band. Like you, I’ve been inclined to blame the

schools and teachers, rather than the kids. There’s just one way to find

out, and that’s to teach.

If I succeed in passing the test, I’m told that the best I can hope

for is an occasional substitute gig. That is unless the voucher

initiative -- Proposition 38 -- passes, in which case the test may over

qualify me.

After seven years of college, it looks as though I might have to put

in another three years to become a fully credentialed teacher.

I continue to tell educators that their statement, “we’ve got to get

parents involved,” is far too narrow. I believe we have to get everyone

involved in public education.

There is probably a rather large pool of older geezers like me with a

wealth of real-world experience who hold undergraduate and graduate

degrees, and who might be up to the challenge.

I recognize that having been rewarded with a degree or two doesn’t

necessarily mean that we’re either educated or qualified to teach. But,

on the other hand, some of us may be. Having educators simply wring their

hands and bemoan the lack of involvement of the parents or the public

just doesn’t cut it. The system needs to encourage and facilitate our

involvement.

It needs to take people like me and figure out how we can help out.

I don’t mind taking the test as a condition of teaching, but the

notion that I’ll have to spend another two or three years, full-time, in

college, to help out discourages me and others similarly situated.

I have no idea how I’ll do on the test, and if I pass, how I’ll be as

a teacher. But, if being motivated to help is any indicator, I ought to

be OK.

Of course, my wife reminds me that I’ve been out of school for some

time now, and she reminds me that I attended college during the social

promotion days. She suggested, after examining the state of our carpets,

that I might be better off pursuing the ZZZBest rather than the CBEST. *

RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He can be

reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected]