For Cleveland and Bradley High School Seniors, the next few weeks will be drawing to a close a childhood era. A time when decisions must be made by them and no longer for them. Graduation Day will be one of the most important milestones in their lives. Many will know exactly which career or profession they wish to pursue, while others may be undecided, even as they make their way through college.
Those that are fortunate enough to discover their individual flare or special talent during their school years often find it will help shape their future career. Whatever field of employment is chosen, the talent discovered in those early years can provide direction as to who they are and what they wish to become. Many people end up simply doing a job but others who have a strong passion for what they do see their career as the guiding light of their lives. Who they are, is what they do.
Trecia Watson is one such person, she started her teaching career in the Bradley County School system twenty five years ago. Although her high school talent showed itself in basket ball, she said her ambition and passion

was always to teach.
Watson became a teacher and went on to teach at Taylor Elementary school for 10 years, Valley View Elementary for 7 years and Blue Springs 7 years. But in June 2002 she was asked by the Bradley County Board of Education to resign. Watson was charged with neglect of duty, insubordination, inefficiency, conduct unbecoming a member of the teaching profession and incompetence. Specific details of the charges were given to the Board of Education and her 24 years of teaching abruptly came to an end.
Since that time, Watson has made

several public appeals in the local media maintaining her innocence. She has even gone as far as to post a web-site giving a lengthy and detailed account of the events that led to her dismissal.
Watson claims in her statements that the charges made against her were untrue or exaggerated, that she was being "picked on"  probably because of her higher scale salary as a tenured teacher and because some of the faculty simply disliked her.
An interview was set up with Ms. Watson a couple of months ago after the editor of The People News was contacted and asked to investigate.  At her home on the south side of the county, Watson described in detail the events that led to each of the five charges made by the Board of Education.
She admitted some of the accusations were true but others she said, were taken out of context. After having problems bought to   her attention, she worked hard to correct her deficiencies.  She agreed that she wasn't the easiest person to get along with, that she is sometimes loud and very outspoken. She also confessed to having problems while going through a divorce after a long marriage, which she agreed made her at times lose patience with the class and scream at the kids. At that time she said, a little help and compassion from the faculty would have been all that was needed, but instead she felt she was being punished. Watson talked of her love of teaching and love for her students and said she now feels her whole life has been taken away from her.
Not having heard all sides of this particular story, it would be unfair to judge

the rights and wrongs, having met Ms. Watson for a short interview does not justify my giving an opinion on reasons for her dismissal and this is not the intent.
As was mentioned at the beginning of this article, to some people a profession is a means to an end, it is just a job, a way to earn a living. Many teachers may be nice people, obey all the rules and are liked by their peers and students but does being popular make them good at what they do - are they good teachers? On the other hand, if a teacher is a little different and has a less amiable personality, does it make them a bad teacher? In any profes

sional group there is diversity of ability. A few may be really good at what they do, some may be completely incapable and the majority may get by but never achieve greatness. This is also true of teaching, one size does not fit all. Teachers are as diverse as any other professional group, in ability, popularity and everything else. 
Educators of course need to be judged differently than other professionals, after all our children's future depends on them and intense scrutiny is warranted and justified. The Boards of Education are elected to ensure our children receive a quality education by paying close attention to teacher performance - we put our trust in their decisions.
Although the education of our children is the primary consideration of the school system, when a teacher of long standing must be removed, it is not impossible for compassion and consideration to temper the way it is done.
My meeting with Ms. Watson left an impression on me, I felt sad for her, and for the lifetime she had spent in the classroom, for the emptiness she now feels, for the rejection. This type of article can be among the most difficult to write without appearing to take sides because of the passionate nature of the subject and the lifetime of service involved but at the same time it is crucial that incompetent teachers be removed from the classroom.
The community has placed the responsibility for judging that competency in the hands of the Boards of Education and Directors of Schools for the Cleveland and Bradley school systems.
It is a difficult and unenviable task. May God help them to make their decisions with wisdom and compassion.