Mary Parker: Why will I join TCCTA again this year?

When I want to know what’s happening at the state level that has an impact on our teachers and students at ACC, I look to TCCTA. For many years, I have found that the members, the officers, and the staff of TCCTA are knowledgeable about what’s going on and are talking to the legislators and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in a powerful and effective way about the needs of community colleges and our students.

I also find the networking with other colleagues in the state, both in math and across disciplines, to have been enriching and useful to me for many years. When I go into the classroom, I need to be open to the students’ opinions and needs, but I also need to convey some pretty strong expectations to them. For me, it helps to have information and insights about the larger picture outside my own classroom and from other colleges as well. For me, TCCTA has always been a great source of that information and a variety of insights.

And yes, like Ina, I buy the insurance every year. Like her, I haven’t had to use it, but I certainly have had students with unreasonable expectations who have been upset. I like knowing that I don’t have to worry about where I would get support in a disagreement with a student that threatened my job.